


^r V. ■■■•■•■ 'r •■ 







^^ .. 













4 o 


















> 






.0' o 






'^0' 



V 

/ V^^V V^^'\^^' ^^'^.^'^'j' 





^4 o^ 

















v^^ 



^<>^- 












o '^ 

















,_J 



HARRY E. LUTZ. 



A STUDEHT'S 



VIEWS ABROAD. 



BY 

HARRY E. LUTZ, 

EDITOR CIRCLEVILLE UNION-HERALD. 

-) '^ ,. -___ 



CIRCLEVILLE, OHIO : 

UNION-HERALD PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
1888. 



V 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1887, 

By harry E. LUTZ, 

In fthe Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C 



[THE LIBRARY 

or c ongr ess' 

WASHINGTON I 



■^^'o: 



TO MY WIFE 

THIS VOLUME 

IS IKSCRIBED, 



This volume consists of extracts from my journcils and 
published letters concerning a two years' tour through Hol- 
land, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Finland, 
Russia, Denmark, Switzerland, France, Malta, Egypt, Pales- 
tine, Asia Minor, Turkey, Greece, England, Scotland and 
Ireland. The entire book was written amid the scenes de- 
scribed . I was fresh from college when the trip was begun 
and was not yet twenty-one years of age when I returned 
home . The book records the impressions of a student and 
I have made no effort to change any part of it to correspond 
with subsequent opinions which I may have formed. 

The entire trip was made at an expenditure of only $750 
and may therefore demonstrate tothe Ohio student how easy 
it is to make a tour through Europe and the East without 
possessing the vast bank account which some people thmk 

necessarv. 

HARRY E. LUTZ. 

CiRCLEViLLE, Ohjo, December ist, 1887. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

The voyage. — Landing at Rotterdam. — Trip on a Dutch 
canal. — Historical scenes at Delft and Ryswick. . 13 

CHAPTER 11. 
The Hague. — Famous scenes in Holland's history. — Leyden 
and its University. — Amsterdam. — Zaandam. — Peter 
the Great as ship carpenter. . . . -25 

CHAPTER III. 

Battle-field of Waterloo. — Brussels. — Up the Rhine. — The 
castled crags. — Arrival at Stuttgart. . . 42 

CHAPTER IV. 

Winter at Stuttgart. — Study of the German language. — 
Fatherland customs. — Christmas m a country village 
\ 62 

CHAPTER V. 

Beginning of the summer's tour. — Hohenstaufen Castle. — 
Ulm and Augsburg. — The art treasures of Munich. — 
Innspruck . — Over the Brenner Pass into Italy. . 86 



VIII CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Verona. — Venice. — First Gondola Ride. — St. Mark's and 
the Palace of the Doges. — Ravenna. — Arrival at 
Naples. . . . . . . . . 103 

CHAPTER VII. 

Naples. — The filthiest city in the world. — The charming Bay 
of Naples. — Ascent of Mt. Vesuvius. — Pompeii. 123 

CHAPTER VIII. 

From Naples to Rome. — First Impressions of the Eternal 

City. — The Forum. — Coliseum and St. Peter's. — 

The Ruins in and about Rome. — Excursions in the 

vicinity. . .... . . 138 

CHAPTER IX. 
Farewell to Rome . — Up the coast to Leghorn. — Arrival at 
Florence . — The Art Treasures, Churches and Tombs of 
the Tuscan Capital. 164 

CHAPTER X. 

Genoa and the Birthplace of Christopher Columbus. — Turin 
and Lake Como. — Back in Austria. — Trieste and its 
Environs. . . . . . . . 179 

CHAPTER XL 

A tramp of three hundred miles in the Austrian mountains. 
— The Adelsberg Caves . — Gratz . — Over the Semmer- 
ingPass. — Vienna. ..... 195 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER XII. 

Vienna. — Its Churches and Museums. — Through Bohemia. 
— Prague. — Down the Elbe to Dresden. . 212 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Beauty and Art Treasures of Dresden. — Over the 
Plains of Saxony. — Leipzig. — Lutzen. — Wittenberg. — 
Berlin. . . . . . . . 229 

CHAPTER XIV. 

From Germany to Sweden.-Across theBaltic. — Stockholm. 
— A Trip to Upsala. — Swedish Liquor Laws. . 255 

CHAPTER XV. 

Along the Finland Coast. — The Sights of St. Petersburg. — 
The Great Churches. — The Fortress of Saints Peter 
and Paul. — Tyranny of the Czar. . .^ . 265 

CHAPTER XVIL 

Visit to Copenhagen. — "The Platform of the Castle of 
Elsinore . " — Lubeck . — Hamburg. — Bremen. — Tramp 
in the Teutoburgian Hills. . . . . 275 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Hanover. — Brunswick. — Tramp over the Brocken . — Lost 

in the Woods. — Goettingen. — Cassel. . . 288 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Weimar and its Famous Men.— Jena University. — Over the 
Thuringian Mountains. — Coburg, Bamberg and Nurem- 
berg. — Back once more at Stuttgart. . . 302 

CHAPTER XX. 

Farewell to Stuttgart. — Weinsberg's Women. — Heidelberg 
and Frankfort. — Down the Rhine Again. — Aix-la- 

Chapelle. — Inauguration of the Great Cologne Cathe- 
dral ^ . . .318 

CHAPTER XXI. 

From Cologne up the Rhine. — Spires. — Sesenheim. — Strass- 
burg. — Basel. — Constance. — Spending the winter at 
Geneva. ; . . . . . . .331 

CHAPTER XXII. 
I leave Geneva. — Embark at Marseilles for Egypt. — Land 
at Alexandria and go to Cairo. — Pyramids and the 
Desert. ........ 350 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Voyage from Egypt to Palestine. — The Suez Canal.— Land- 
ing at Joppa. — Jerusalem and Bethlehem. — The Holy 
Fire 381 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

MoonKght ride from Jerusalem to the Sea. — Along the Coast 
of Asia. — Site of Ancient Troy. — Constantinople. — 
Athens. — Back in France 39S 

CHAPTER XXV. 
In France Again. — Paris. — Across the Channel. — London . 
— Stratford. — Ayr. — Glasgow. — Edinburgh. — Abbots- 
ford. — Liverpool. — Ireland. — Voyage Home. . 410 



Ji ^khnh Ytms ^hmk 



CHAPTER I. 

THE VOYAGE. LANDING AT ROTTERDAM. TRIP ON A DUTCH 

CANAL. HISTORICAL SCENES AT DELFT AND RYSWICK. 



A trip to Europe is the dream of every American student. 
If he has an especial fondness for history, biography and 
poetry the longing to visit the Old World is intensified. He 
can imagine no greater pleasure than to spend a quiet after- 
noon in dreamy reverie in the Poet's Corner in Westminis- 
ter Abbey, or a week of study among the art treasures of 
the Louvre or the Vatican, or to wander among the colossal 
ruins on the banks of the Nile, or to stand on the Acropolis 
at Athens and gaze on the scenes which were once familiar 
to the philosophers and statesmen whose power over man- 
kind has not yet waned. 

In 1879, when not yet nineteen years of age I grad- 
uated from an Ohio college. In my school days I had dip- 
ped into general literature with a keener relish than I did 
into my text books and like many others I dreamed more of 
foreign travel than I did of choosing a profession and set- 
tling down to make my fortune. I could not reconcile my- 



14 A student's views abroad. 

self to adopt any of the courses prescribed for law, theology 
or medicine. I preferred journalism but longed for greater 
opportunities for study and travel before entering on that 
profession. 

In the summer after leaving college for the last time I be- 
gan reading law with my father, in my native city, but was 
unable to settle down fairly to the work. I devoted more 
time to the perusal of the books in the city library than I 
did to the study of law. I continued to think of a trip to 
Europe for the purpose of a study of the German language 
but my plans remained as mazy as a dream. 

In the course of the summer I reread Bayard Taylor's 
"Views Afoot" and my admiration for the pluck and en~ 
thusiasm of that famous traveler led me first to mature a def- 
inite plan of a trip to the Old World. After some elabor- 
ate figuring and considerable correspondence with various 
parties I came to the conclusion that I could go to Europe, 
spend eight or nine months studying German and see some- 
thing of the Old World for three or four hundred dollars 
From various sources I got together sufficient funds, and 
accordingly set to work to prepare for the trip. I had made 
up my mind to choose journalism as a profession and ex- 
pected that the knowledge of the German language and an 
acquaintance with the habits and ideas of the Old World 
would be a valuable preparatory to such a career. 

I secured a passport from Washington to use in case of 
emergency and also a circular letter of introduction from 
the Secretary of State to the United States ministers and 
consuls. My subsequent travels largely exceeded my plans. 
I saw many more countries and spent more time abroad 



15 

than I had ventured to think possible. Yet my experience 
has been that the very best thing any traveler can have is 
enthusiasm for literature and art. The wealthiest of tour- 
ists are generally the most complaining because their pleas- 
ure consists only in the luxuries of life and every little de- 
tail is therefore a source of annoyance to them. A man, 
who has an enthusiasm for the heroes of history, feels so 
much delight in viewing the classic scenes which they once 
made famous, that he does not brood over the petty annoy- 
ances incident to eating and drinking. 

A man with enthusiasm for an idea in his breast will 
cheerfully brave the terrors of the frozen north and the 
horrors of the fever stricken south to attain his aim. He 
will hold as nothing the hardships by the way and will 
rather rejoice in overcoming them and feel renewed pleas- 
ure in every victory over unpropitious circumstances. The 
student who wishes to rough it in Europe should have in 
some degree a touch of the same enthusiasm. This delight 
in viewing the historic haunts of the "great of old" must be 
sufficient to make him forget the roughness of his fare and 
the hardness of his bed He must have sufficient interest 
in literature and art to make him indifferent to the unpleas- 
ant companions which are often thrust upon him. 

"Press on ! for it is godlike to unloose 

The spirit and forget yourself in thought ; , 

Bending a pinion for the deeper ssy, 

And, in the very fetters of your flesh, 

Mating with the pure essences of heaven." 

— Willis. 

After a preliminary ride through the beautiful country 
along the Pennsylvania railroad, I embarked at New York 
on the "Schiedam," of the Netherlands-American Steamship 



1 6 A student's views abroad. 

line, shortly after the interesting hour of noon, on Saturday 
August 30th, 1879. About three o'clock the engine whis- 
tled several warning shrieks, which sent the visitors hurried- 
ly ashore ; the officer on the bridge growled a command, 
the cables were loosened and we were off. 

The piers, the ships, the forts hurried past us. We dip- 
ped our flag in honor of the guardians of the Nation's 
peace, and then we were out in the open sea. I felt very 
little of the Byronic enthusiasm as I watched "my native 
shore fade o'er the waters blue." I could not forget the 
humble adage, "never shout until you are out of the woods," 
and I had too many misgivings about sea sickness on the 
morrow to indulge in premature sentimentality. 

I climbed into my berth that night with the firm convic- 
tion that I would spend the next day leaning over the rail 
gazing steadfastly into the fathomless deep. I opened my 
eyes in the morning with considerable trepidation but was 
surprised to find the vessel moving on with a soothing motion 
which continued several days. As the time went by I 
gained confidence in my digesting apparatus, and when the 
waves did run high, I felt none of that "strong emotion" 
which many of my fellow travelers experienced. 

Of course the first thing the ocean passenger does is to 
get acquainted with his vessel. Ours proved rather a slow 
one. It never made more than eleven miles an hour,and usu- 
ally nine was the rate. It was baptised "Schiedam" in honor 
of the town near Rotterdam which is known far and wide 
on account of its 300 distilleries. One would think that it 
had rather a tipsy godfather. 

Next after the vessel, one's fellow passengers claim his 



A student's views abroad. 1 7 

attention . We had a pretty fair representation of nationali- 
ties, but the German element predominated. Of course 
there were some queer characters on board, which afforded 
us plenty of amusement. I mention but one. He was a 
German and a humpback with a roguish face. He had 
been one year in America in the milk business but his Eng- 
lish was limited. He seemed to have been successful for he 
had a well-filled purse, on which he freely drew for the 
purchase of schnapps and red wine. He said he was going 
to the Rhine to get himself a wife. " American gal all 
false — all hoombug ; Doitch gal — rede cheeks — big — ah ! 
fine. Doitch gall all work." 

For the first week out from New York we had no dif- 
ficulty in amusing ourselves, but, after that, time seemed 
to drag along. We had cold and cloudy weather for ten 
days, which compelled us to remain below deck. At last 
on the afterncion of our thirteenth day from New York 
the sun shown out brightly from among the clouds and we 
were gladdened by seeing the Scilly Islands and the south- 
west coast of England. From that time on we had land 
constantly in sight. On Sunday, September 14th, we anch- 
ored on the Holland coast. As soon as the tide came in 
we proceeded up the Maas, past quaint villages and innum- 
erable windmills, and at three in the afternoon, just fifteen 
days after leaving New York, we reached Rotterdam. 

It was with the most agreeable feeling that I first set foot 
on the continent, which has been the home of the great of 
the ages. The scenes which had inspired the pencil of the 
artists and the pen of the authors whose names are house- 
hold words were now before me. 



1 8 A student's views abroad. 

In every direction strange sights met my glance. Here 
was a quaint looking house ; there a peasant in the oddest 
of costumes. I spent the evening in the streets watching 
the movements of the people, and the appearance of the 
canals, the boats and the houses. It was Sunday evening 
and the streets were filled with people in their holiday dress. 
The windows of most of the stores were brilliantly lighted 
and every one seemed in the best of spirits. At nearly 
every block I met squads of young men walking arm in 
arm singing popular songs at the top of their voices. Men 
in soldiers' uniforms were very numerous, and with the 
gayly dressed girls made a pleasmg spectacle. 

The next morning all signs of this jollity had disappeared 
Every one now seemed busy. But in their work they pre- 
sented a still stranger appearance. Horses are very scarce 
in Rotterdam. What in America is considered sufficient 
load for a horse is there drawn by a man. Under most of 
the hugh handcarts are one or two dogs, hitched to the 
axle tuggmg away to help the man. Then there are 
carts pulled exclusively by dogs. Indeed it is no fun to be 
a dog in Holland. There they earn their tax. 

I had always thought that the wearing of earrings 
was a relic of barbarism, but after being in Holland one 
thinks our ladic^ are very mild offenders on that score. In 
Rotterdam many wear immense metal ornaments projecting 
from the sides of the head like horns. But they have a 
more common and more pleasing custom than this. Every 
one from the humblest kitchen girl wears the neatest and 
whitest little caps ever seen. This combined with the 
splendid complexions which are almost equally universal, 



19 

make the feminine element a valuable addition to the city in 
an aesthetic view. 

At the hotel in which I lodged everything was strange. 
The kitchen had a floor and walls of tile and the brightly 
polished brass utensils which hung about the room were 
proof of Dutch cleanliness and thrift. The little room 
which was assigned to me contained a bed concealed in the 
drapery of snow white curtains. 

In Holland there is a custom, which I think is exclusively 
Dutch, of having small mirrors just outside the windows, 
incHned at such an angle as to reflect the image of those on 
the pavement so that it can be seen by the inmates of the 
room without being seen themselves . This practice is al- 
most universal but seems very strange to an American. 

Rotterdam has about 150,000 inhabitants and boasts of a 
cathedral, two fine bridges over the river Maas and an ex- 
tensive shipping. It was the birthplace of the famous ICras- 
mus, to whom the city has erected a statue in the market 
place. The house in which he was born is occupied now 
by a produce and fruit store. 

After, having spent three days in the narrow streets of 
Rotterdam, I thought that it was about time to move. Ac- 
cordingly I embarked on a little steamer on the canal for 
Delft, which is ten miles from Rotterdam . There were but 
two other passengers in the tiny cabin. One was a smooth 
faced conservative gentleman dressed in broadcloth. His 
coat was buttoned to his chin, and he still wore the old fash- 
ioned knee pantaloons which terminated in black stockings 
and these in still blacker shoes. A black silk hat crowned 
this midnight costume. "Well, my friend," thought I, 



20 

"You were born about two hundred years too late." The 
other passenger was a young man in a styHsh suit. After 
we had gone a short distance the latter addressed me in 
Dutch. I turned loose my stock of words in that horrible 
language and told him I did not understand . 

" Sprechen Sie Deutsch ?" 

I shook my head sadly . 

" Parlez-vous Francais ?" 

I shook my head again. 

" Do you speak English ?" 

I quickly told him that I did, and "the polyglot " talked to 
me in my mother tongue . He was a specimen of the many 
that I found in Holland who could speak three or four lan- 
guages. A student of the Leyden university afterwards 
told me that the Hollander never found anyone else who 
could speak his language, and so was compelled to learn 
other languages if he wished to have any communication 
with the rest of the world. 

But as I soon found my newly made acquaintance had 
nothing to say in particular, I left him and went on deck. 
The canal was thickly dotted with boats of all sizes and de- 
scriptions . But here also was the same scarcity of horses 
that I noticed in Rotterdam. Most of the boats were 
pulled by men. Let me place it to the credit of the nation 
however that I saw none pulled by women. Here and 
there we passed one with a couple of dogs tugging at the 
rope. Then we would meet two large boats both pulled by 
one unfortunate horse. 

The surface of the canal on which we were riding, like 
that of the majority of Holland's canals, lay above the sur- 



21 

rounding country, so that our view was unobstructed. The 
land was in pasture and was covered with the greenest of 
grass. Not a fence was to be seen, but small canals or 
trenches filled with water formed an admirable substitute. 
Windmills were plentifully distributed over the country and 
their revolving arms gave a look of animation to the land- 
scape. Lines of tall and slender trees relieved the monot- 
ony of the level plain and formed a background for the 
living picture. 

As we drew near to Delft the houses along the canal be- 
came more numerous, and through the open doors I could 
see the women working at the eternal scrubbing and wash- 
ing for which the Dutch are so noted. A sagacious old 
Holland gentleman whom I met on the steamer assured me 
that as gold is the god of the Americans, so water is 
the god of the Dutch. All that I saw made me willing to 
believe the latter half of his statement. I am not certain 
but that one may be uncomfortable clean as well as uncom- 
fortably dirty. 

However this may be, my meditations were cut short by 
our arrival at Delft. I gathered up my traps and walked 
up a street with the inevitable canal in the middle until I 
reached the Prinsenhof or Palace. By a move of the 
hand I made one of the soldiers, whom I found at the gate- 
way, understand that I wished to enter. Accordingly he 
led me across an open court and through a door on the op- 
posite side to the foot of the stairway. In the wall to the 
right are three small holes in the stone and immediately 
above them is an inscription recording the fact that here 
on the loth of July, 1584, William the Silent, Prince of 



2 2 A student's VIEWS ABROAD. 

Orange, and defender of Dutch liberty, was assassinated by 
a wretch animated by the hope of being rewarded with the 
gold of the blood thirsty Philip of Spain. To see these 
bullet marks and this staircase was the principal object of 
my visit to Delft . I paid that tribute to the interest Mot- 
ley's narrative awakened in the character of the Dutch 
Washington. 

After having spent sufficient time in imagining the details 
of the tragedy, 1 crossed the street to the "Old Church," 
and visited the monuments of the Admirals Van Tromp and 
and Piet Hein. Then I went to the "New Church," which 
is however no newer than the middle of the fifteenth century 
and saw the magnificent monument to William the Silent 
which was erected in 1621. The effigy of the prince in 
marble lies on a black marble sarcophagus beneath a can- 
opy, supported by four clustered pillars and six isolated col- 
umns, all likewise of marble. In the niches of the pillars 
stand four allegorical figures, Liberty, Justice, Prudence 
and Religion. I confess I had been so en wrapt in the pres- 
ent that I had not realized that they were able to conceive of 
so beautiful a thing as early as 1621. But then I suppose 
that can be pardoned in an American. 

I looked at the simple tablet to the memory of the scholar 
Hugh Grotius, who was born at Delft, and then went across 
the market place to the Town House, and was conducted to 
a neatly furnished hall, in which the honest burghers have 
met for over two centuries and a half. In the middle of 
the room is a large table which is surrounded by chairs, 
while before each is placed writing materials. The chairs 
are as angular as any Dutchman could wish. On the 



A student's views abroad. 23 

walls are hung the paintings I wished to see . They are 
principally portraits of the Orange family. Their history 
can be plainly traced in their physiognomies. The faces 
of the powerful princes, William the Silent, Maurice and 
William the Third are singularly strong and form a marked 
contrast to those of the two last princes. 

I next turned my steps northward along the road to Rys- 
wick and soon left the city of Delft behind. The road runs 
along the bank of a canal and is paved all the way . On 
both sides trees are planted at regular intervals, and between 
the road and the canal is a neat gravel walk lined with grass. 
The sod is so well kept that I was almost afraid to step on it, 
though it was in the open country. 

I walked along slowly, watching the quaint craft on the 
canal, the little dog carts Qn the road and the dusky wind- 
mills in the fields beyond. But at last, the road led over a 
bridge across the canal and I soon reached the village of 
Ryswick, four miles from Delft. 

It was here that the peace of 1697 was concluded between 
France and the allied powers headed by William III. of 
England . The house is not now standing but its site is oc^ 
cupied by an obelisk erected at the close of the last century. 
This peace has a place in American history, for the re- 
sults of a few paltry scratches of a pen here were felt in 
the wilderness thousands of miles away. Then King Wil- 
liam's war was ended and the Indian allies of the French 
ceased butchering the English colonists of New York and 
New England. 

I had some difficulty in finding the obelisk. I walked in 
every direction but could see nothing of it. I asked a mail 



24 A STUDENT S VIEWS ABROAD. 

carrier whom I met but he did not understand, as I unfor- 
tunately did not know the Dutch word for obelisk. I was 
about to give up in despair, when I found it in a park al- 
most concealed by the trees . It is very tall but very plain 
looking. 

I then retraced my steps through the village to the church 
yard where I visited the tomb of Holland's favorite poet 
Tollens. He sleeps in a quiet nook behind the church 
among the less famous dead. 

Dutch villages are models of neatness . In America the 
little towns are the most forlorn and unpicturesque places 
imaginable and generally combine all the bad qualities of 
both town and country. But in the Holland villages, the 
streets, the pavements, the houses and shops are as neat 
and bright looking and much cleaner than in the cities. 

From Ryswick, I returned to the main road and walked 
a mile farther between two rows of majestic trees, reaching 
the Hague with its broad streets and handsome buildings 
long before the evening shadows appeared on the green 
fields of Holland. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE HAGUE. FAMOUS SCENES IN HOLLAND^S HISTORY.— 

LEYDEN AND ITS UNIVERSITY.— AMSTERDAM, ZAAN- 

DAM. PETER THE GREAT AS SHIP CARPENTER, 



I had been foot-sore from my rambles in Rotterdam and 
by the time I reached the Hague I barely had energy enough 
to mo\'e. But as the traveler must disregard weariness, I 
mustered up all my enthusiasm for the historical sights be- 
fore me. Having found a hotel with a French as well as a 
Dutch sign, I went in and waylaid the first official I met . I 
recited to him the only sentence of any considerable length 
that I knew in his language, and expected an answer in the 
affirmative or negative. But as it is not in the nature of 
things for a public official to be so brief, he launched out in 
a long harangue in which I was swamped at the first word. 
I explained the difficulty and he called in the servant who 
did the English for the establishment. How impatient the 
traveler is of these English grinders when he first comes in 
contact with them ! But let him be forced to do his talkmg 
in gestures and monosyllables for a week and he is quite 
glad to meet even these few worded gentlemen. They are 
not in the least embarrassed, however by the limitedness of 
their language. When they find you are an American they 
excuse their ignorance by serenely and contemptiously re- 



26 

marking that they do not understand American English. 

I would very willingly have rested after the day's adven- 
tures but I had a call to make. Among the passengers on 
the "Schiedam," was an elderly gentleman from New York 
who was going to visit his brother at the Hague. Hear- 
ing of my plans he gave me his address and requested me 
to call on him and said he would show me some of the 
sights of the metropolis. All the time during the voyage 
he indulged in eulogies of Holland, notwithstanding my re- 
peated assurance that my opinion of the Dutch people was 
very high. 

Well, I had some desire to see the interior of a Holland 
home, and so 1 gathered together the remnants of my bod- 
ily strength the same evening I arrived at the Hague and 
started out to hunt up the address. I found the name and 
number attached to a magnificent house which faced on an 
open square with rows of tall trees and with the National 
Monument in the center. I rang the bell and was ushered 
into a marble-floored hall adorned with two statues where I 
waited while the white-capped servant carried my card to 
Mynheer H. He quickly appeared and drew me into an 
elegantly furnished room which was filled with those beau- 
tiful trifles which luxury only can conceive and which 
wealth only can buy. After some brief inquiries about my 
experience since we had parted in Rotterdam he concluded 
to begin the sightseeing at once by showing me the house 
and grounds. So taking his hat and pipe he led me through 
half a dozen different rooms which rivaled the first one in 
elegance, out into the garden. We walked slowly along the 
curved paths under green trees and shrubbery and past the 



27 

flowers, and the statues, the fountain and the well-kept 
grass. He showed me the fancy fowls and then we went 
into the stables, where everything was scrupulously clean. 
Here I saw the fine looking horse which he assured me 
cost a thousand guilders. Then he showed me the car- 
riages and the driver's livery. But at every turn he asked 
me ; 

" Is that fine or not ,^" 

I drew pretty largely on the list of synonyms for the 
beautiful and then passed again through the elegant rooms 
out into the street. We went along the finely paved ave- 
nues and looked at the magnificent houses with their lawns 
adorned with fountains, statues and flowers. 

" Is that fine or not ?" 

He triumphantly asked in his broken English. I assured 
him it was gorgeous. But on he went through streets, 
parks and squares, mto public buildings, and over bridges, 
now stumbling in dark passages and then emerging into 
brilliantly lighted and thickly crowded thoroughfares. 
Every few minutes he would stop and out came that inevi- 
table : 

"Is that fine, or not ?" 

I ransacked the out-of-the-way corners of my brain for 
words expressive of incomparable excellence. Yet they 
were but fuel for the flames, 

« Is that fine, or not ?" 

That was the greeting for every strange sight. He had 
heard some Americans, in America, ridiculing Holland, and 
I was to be sacrificed to satiate his wrath . 

" Is that fine, or not ?" 

I verily thought I could go no farther, but on and on he 



28 

dragged me. Trees and houses and street lamps went hy 
in a confused stream. 

"Is that fine^ or not ?" 

The query came out as strong as ever, but my answers 
were reduced to faint monosyllables. At last we were out 
of the city. We passed through the dark shadows of a large 
grove and halted in a dense crowd. Within a broad en- 
closure before us hundreds of people were sitting at small 
tables drinking and joyously conversing. Upon an elevated 
platform amid brightly glearning lamps there were several 
dozen musicians. We had been there but a short time when 
they began to play, and even my unmusical soul might have 
shared the raptures of the multitude, but at that time I 
would have been indifferent to old Orpheus himself. I 
stood there in misery while several pieces were performed 
with interludes of the old query : 

" Is that fine, or not ?" 

At last the worthy Mynheer was satisfied and we turned 
our faces toward the city, I wanted to rest a few minutes 
on one of the seats by the way-side, but he was afraid I 
would take cold. 

" Is that fine, or not ?" 

The interrogatory still came every few paces, but as even 
misery has an end we finally reached my hotel and I bade 
my persecuter a feeble good-night. The next day he was 
suddenly called away to Utrecht and. I was left to finish my 
sight seeing alone. 

Although the Hague is chiefly a modern built city, it has 
several places of great historical interest. By the side of 
the fish pond in the center of the cit}^ rises a number of 



29 

buildings, called the Binnenhof, surrounding an open court 
which is entered by several gates. Many of these build- 
ings are very old, and the square which they inclose has 
been the scene of some great events in Holland history. It 
was here on the 24th of May, 1619, that the aged Grand 
Pensionary, John Van Oldenbarneveld, was executed 
through the influence of Prince Maurice, of Orange. The 
former was a distinguished representative of the Demo- 
cratic element, while the latter was one of the greatest gener- 
als of the past. But the philosopher tells us that "every 
excess causes a defect ; every defect, an excess. Every 
sweet hath its sour ; every evil its good." The Prince was 
a great general, but the curse came with the blessing of 
power. He was impatient of opposition and perpetrated 
this judicial murder which will cast a cloud on his name 
forever. Instances, like this, of the clashing of two heroes 
are always painful, especially to the young. It produces 
the same uncomfortable feeling as hearing one friend ex- 
press unlimited contempt for the opinion which we know to 
be defended by another who is equally dear to us. We 
like to think of characters as having decided shades either 
of good or of evil and any opposition of one admired hero 
to another seems unnatural. 

East of the Binnenhof is the Maurice House Musuem 
of Paintings, which contains some very celebrated pictures. 
The most famous are the "Young Bull," by Paul Potter, 
and the "School of Anatomy," by Rembrandt. The form- 
er was carried to Paris b}^ Napoleon in spite of an offer of 
thirty-six thousand dollars for it, by the Dutch Government. 
Having a guide book which told me what to admire, I 



30 A STUDENT S VIEWS ABROAD. 

could not help being enraptured by the right pictures . 

At the Navy Office I saw hundreds of models of ships, 
guns and light-houses, all constructed with wonderful skill. 
But the saddest of all was the collection of relics of a 
party, sent in 1595, in search of the northwest passage to 
China, who fell victims to the rigors of the climate. The 
things were found and brought back only a few years ago. 
They are cooking utensils, instruments, guns and spears, 
books and fragments of paper with writing on them now 
no longer legible . These relics of their daily activity but 
more painfully remind us of their fate. 

The Royal Library contains 160,000 volumes ; among 
them the Librarian pointed out a great many which had 
been presented by the American government. They show 
also in the visitors' book a good autograph of the historian 
Motley. 

One of the most interesting places in the Hague for me 
was the old Gevangenpoort prison, which is situated a short 
distance west of the Binnenhof . It was built over a gate- 
way through which the busy throng of to-day passes un- 
ceasingly, each pursuing his pet hobby, unmindful of the 
gloomy memories which cluster around that ancient pile. 
Having been admitted through a heavy wooden door, I was 
left to ramble about the place at my leisure. The building 
is three stories high and contains about twenty cells, sol had 
enough to occupy me. On each massive door is an in- 
scription in Dutch, French and English recording the fact 
for which the adjoining appartment is especially famous . 
The windows are small and have double sets of bars. I 
climbed up the winding stairs, which seemed to have as 



A student's views abroad. 31 

many branches as a tree, went through all the rooms and 
peered into the closets. Although I was not acquainted 
with many of the names of those who had been imprisoned 
there, still as I stood in the -cheerless cells in solitude I 
could well appreciate that I was in the presence of another 
age . While wandering around I came upon one apartment 
that was singularly gloomy. It was a cell built within a 
cell. The rays of light that struggled through the bars of 
the outer window were almost entirely intercepted by the 
inner bars ; and beside the ordinary terrors of the place, 
the prisoner here suffered those of semi-darkness. The 
inscription on the door was : 



cm m pisTeiiiSe 



While 1 was standing musing over the strange scene, the 
custodian entered with two soldiers. In a hoarse voice he 
explained to them the history of the place, and then lighted a 
match and pointed out some red figures on the wall all the 
time contmuing his account, of which I could only under- 
stand the words Pistorius and blood. Every few moments 
the soldiers interrupted the speaker with dismal groans of 
horror. The blood marks on the wall, the red glare of the 
light, the sepulchral tone of the keeper, and the sighs of 
the sympathetic soldiers combined to work on the imagina- 
tion and call to mind visions of that time when men thought 
to stop the rismg of the sun by shutting their eyes and 
butchering those who saw. 

But the custodian and the soldiers soon departed and I 



32 A student's views abroad. 

was again left to pursue my wanderings. There is a cell 
on the ground floor which is labeled : 



nj-A-CE 


WlElE WOMEl ¥E1E 


STMKLED.' 



In this there is a collection of instruments of torture. 
Here is to be seen every means of producing pain without 
death that diabolical fancy could invent. I gazed long and 
curiously at this collection. Before I went out I happened 
to open a closet door and there I found — not a heap of 
skulls or some objects in like harmony with the surround- 
ings — no, not such, but a child's rocking-horse and a doll's 
wagon. "Ah ! it is well ;" thought I, "here are the six- 
teenth and the nineteenth centuries in contact. Here is love 
and hate, joy and pain. The love of child puts to shame 
the hate of man !" 

But the "cellar of torture" was left yet to be visited. 
There I found among other things a bench and axe used in 
beheading. On the former were a great number of nicks, 
and perhaps every mark could tell a tale of death ! 

I have spoken of the tragedy of the Binnenhof. The 
Gevangenpoort was the scene of a somewhat similar event. 
In 167 1 the De Witt brothers, John and Cornelius, who had 
been opponents of the house of Orange, were taken from 
the Gevangenpoort prison by a mob and literally torn to 
pieces. The custodian pointed out a hole in the window- 
sash made by a bullet fired at the ill-fated men. 

It was not without a feeling of relief that I left this place 



33 

of torture and death and mingled again with the gay- faced 
multitude. In the evening I went by rail to the famous old 
city of Ley den. 

Leyden was founded by the Romans. In 1574, during 
the war for independence, she resisted a terrible siege of the 
Spaniards, until relieved by William the Silent, Prince of 
Orange, who opened the dykes and flooded the country. As 
a reward for the faithfulness of the city early the following 
year the Prince founded the University, whose fame 
afterwards gained for Leyden the proud title of the 
"Athens of the West." There are at present about 
thirty-five professors and eight hundred students. Leyden 
means suffering and the name is appropriate for her great- 
ness arose from her sorrow. 

Soon after I arrived I met one of the students, who intro- 
duced me at their club and afterwards took me to a meet- 
ing to witness the initiation of some new men. Among 
the other things these candidates for fame were made to 
do, was talking to me in English. The poor fellows found 
it hard work to get their ideas into that garb and were re- 
warded with many uncomplimentary comments from 
the older ones. I will add, however, that the majority of 
those whom I met could speak English as well as several 
other languages. 

On a mound of earth in the center of the city stands a 
low, broad tower, which is supposed to have been built 
by the Roman Drusus. During the days of the siege 
of 1574, the people crowded its summit to watch with heavy 
hearts for the appearance of the Prince's vessels in the 
flooded fields. I suppose it is the oldest structure in Holland. 



34 

Motley's history had inflamed me with the desire to see it 
above all other things. But I was disappointed. I expect- 
ed to see a picturesque ruin but found a neatly built pile of 
modern bricks and mortar. They say it is "restored," but 
for my part I have no admiration for "restored" buildings . 
There is some reason in repairing old churches, where beauty 
and not age is the attraction, but I can see no sense in 
moderns rebuilding structures which are only interesting 
from a historical view. They tell us it is to preserve them, 
but we don't want them preserved. Let the arches fall, let 
the moss creep over the crumbling stones ; these are the signs 
of age, these are the things that impress us. But in the 
name of the ages that are past, let no one defile their work 
with any prosy modern mud. 

If you look at the map of Holland, you will scarcely 
notice the crooked, slender line which passes by Utrecht 
and Leyden and finally ends at the North Sea. Insignifi- 
cant though you may consider it, that is the Rhine. The 
greater portion of the water of the famous river enters the 
sea through channels called the Maas and the Lek, but this 
feeble branch bears the name which is familiar to every ear. 

Over a thousand years ago the mouth of the stream was 
filled up during a hurricane, and the water formed a vast 
swamp near the sea from that time until the beginning of 
this century. Under the reign of King Louis Napoleon a 
canal was dug and an immense dyke with locks constructed, 
and thus assisted the waters are enabled to reach the sea. 

Near the mouth of the river lies the town of Katwijk aan 
Zee, six miles from Leyden. During the summer steamers 
afford a convenient means of communication. 



35 

Thinking that it would be neglecting the most prominent 
feature of Holland not to take a look at one of her sea 
dykes, 1 concluded to spend the remainder of the day in the 
trip to Katwijk. Accordingly, I was soon gliding down the 
smooth Rhine in a neat little screw steamer. There was 
nothing grand in the scenery, nothing there to make the 
Rhine synonymous with beauty. Imagine a stream not 
broader than our own Scioto, with not the faintest ripple on 
the surface to indicate a current. Picture to yourself this 
peaceful stream with low banks thickly fringed with willows, 
and you then see all that the Rhine is at Leyden. 

The ride was only interrupted by the occasional slacking 
of the speed of the steamer to allow some heavily laden 
sailboat to pass without dashing the water over her side. 
I had formed my general idea of a dyke principally from 
the appearance of the Scioto levees, and was considerably 
surprised at the mountain of sand at the mouth of the Rhine. 
The Dutch proverb, "God made the sea, we made the 
shore," seems not out of place when one sees such gigantic 
bulwarks against the inroads of the ocean . The tides 
being out, I took a walk along the beach and then looked at 
the ponderous locks, which are opened at low water to let 
out the sluggish Rhine. All the strength of wood, iron 
and stone is here used in resisting the waves, and the mass- 
iveness of the gates seems entirely in keeping with the solid- 
ity of the dyke. 

After my return to Leyden, an hour's ride b}^ rail brought 
me to Haarlem, famous also for a fearful siege by the Span- 
iards in the war for independence. But she was less fortu- 
nate than her sister city, and was finally obliged to yield to 



36 

the enemy. The perfidious Alva immediately violated the 
terms of the surrender and murdered about two thousand 
of the heroic defenders of their fatherland. 

Haarlem has a large cathedral which was completed in 
1 516. It contains one of the largest organs in the world, 
which has four key-boards, sixty-four stops and five thou- 
sand pipes, the largest of which is fifteen inches in diameter 
and thirty-two feet long. It almost fills one end of the 
church. From one of the arches are suspended several 
small models of ships, commemorating the fifteenth crusade. 
The red-white-and-blue flags hanging at the diminutive mast 
heads are like those which are floating to-day in Holland. 

According to the Dutch accounts Lawrence Coster, a 
sacristan of the Haarlem cathedral, invented the art of print- 
ing in 1423, seventeen years before the period assigned by 
the Germans to its invention by Gutenberg of Mayence. 

Not knowing which one had the honor of bestowing that 
great blessing on mankind, I determined to reach the right 
one by paying my veneration to both. Accordmgly I look- 
ed at Coster's statue in the market place and examined the 
specimens of his printing in the town hall, feeling very 
thankful that he made it possible for me to have "rolled" 
for a hand-press in my career as "devil" in a country office. 

Having visited all the places I wished, I took the train to 
Amsterdam. The railroad is almost perfectly straight and 
passes along the northern edge of what formerly was the 
Haarlem Lake. It was so large that during the war for 
independence Motley tells us many naval battles took place 
on its surface. It was drained between 1840 and 1853, and 
seventy-two square miles of land recovered, which holds a 



37 

population of 10,000, and is said to be worth 800 florins or 
320 dollars an acre. 

Amsterdam has been frequently compared with Venice, 
and there seems to be much that is similar in the situation of 
the two places. Venice is built on seventy-two islands ; Am- 
sterdam on ninety. Venice has three hundred and six- 
bridges ; Amsterdam about three hundred. Through Venice 
the Grand Canal winds its way ; through Amsterdam flows 
the broad current of the river Amstel. But the Dutch me- 
tropolis has more than the Italian ; it has broad streets as 
well as canals, and so the poetic fancy is robbed of the 
pleasing pictures of the gondolas. Without seeing the 
canals one can not realize the number there is in that small 
space on the maps of Europe allotted to Amsterdam. One 
meets with the tall masts of the vessels in every direction, 
and he can walk but a short distance without crossing a 
bridge. But Amsterdam has still another strange charac- 
teristic ; all its houses are built on piling. The ground is so 
soft that without this precaution the walls would sink into 
the mud. The general appearance of the city is much like 
Rotterdam. The buildings in the business portion are nar- 
row and high and built of the small brick peculiar to Hol- 
land. In the streets one frequently meets with the costumes 
of different provinces. I saw a great many women who 
were wearing skull caps of gold or silver under their bon^ 
nets and reaching the top of the ears. These ornnments 
are very valuable and are usually heirlooms in the families* 
On the canal boats I saw men in violet colored suits v^ ith 
full Turkish knee trousers. The other costumes resemble 
those in Rotterdam already described. 



38 

Amsterdam has immense harbors for ships, and one can 
find flags of nearly every civilized commercial nation flying 
from the masts of the vessels at anchor. On the quay 
there is a small round tower, built in the fifteenth century, 
which is called the criers' tower . It is said to have receiv- 
ed its name from the fact that vessels sailed from here for 
all parts of the world and the weeping of friends at parting 
was constantly recurring at that place . 

On the Sunday I was in Amsterdam, 1 was walking 
along one of the streets when I heard numerous loud voices 
which seemed to come from a street on the opposite side of 
the canal. I crossed over at the next bridge and was soon 
in a crowd of people of the lower classes. Along the sides 
of the narrow street were piled old clothes, old shoes, old 
utensils and many other things of like description . Then 
there were fruit stands and places where cheap articles of 
dress were kept. But before each of these classes of wares 
were men screaming at the top of their voices, some trying 
to induce the people to buy of them, while others were con- 
ducting auctions. The confusion of noises was awful. I 
never heard any like it, even in an American political meet- 
ing. It was the Jewish Quarter, where the worst specimens 
of that noble race were carrying on their trade. I extricat- 
ed myself from the crowd as quickly as possible and sought 
something more pleasing than those filthy shops. 

South of the city lies a large park of seventy-five acres, 
called Vondel's, in honor of the poet, who has received the 
distinguished title of "the Dutch Shakespeare." The park 
is far inferior to the Central Park, New York, and to the 
park at Haarlem, as far as beauty is concerned. In Disrae- 



39 

li's "Curiosities of Literature" he says that Vondel lived in 
great poverty, notw^ithstanding the popularity of his trage- 
dies. One cannot help thinking as he looks at these broad 
acres, that if they would give the Vondels of the v^orld a 
little more while they are alive, they would be satisfied to 
have less after their death. 

It was Sunday afternoon that I visited the park, and re- 
turning to the city, I met hundreds of young people taking 
their holiday. The number of plug hats was truly alarm- 
ing. Indeed he seemed to have attained the summit of 
human happiness, who had the tallest cylinder on his head, 
the longest and most crooked cigar-holder in his mouth, and 
the reddest cheeked girl on his arm. 

The flood which made the Zuider Zee, left a narrow arm 
of land between Amsterdam and the North sea which cut 
off all convenient communication. But recently a large 
canal has been constructed extending from Amsterdam 
westward to the North sea. It is of sufficient depth to al- 
low the largest and heaviest laden vessel to pass through 
and cost $14,000,000. I went about one third of the dis- 
tance through this canal by steamer to Zaandam whose chief 
attraction to the tourist is the hut in which Peter the Great 
lived while working on the ship yards. The house is very 
small and seems to be on the point of falling to pieces. It 
is now protected by a large shed. The hut con- 
sists of two small rooms and a bed closet. The walls are 
literally covered with names; the desire to gain immortality 
by defacing a public building not being peculiar to Ameri- 
cans. I contented myself with inscribing my name and 
place of residence in the visitors' book. 



40 



A student's views abroad. 



However small the hut may be, monarchs have not con- 
sidered it beneath them to do it honor . Alexander of Rus- 
sia visited it in 1814 and left the following inscription : 



10TII1© TO© SlILLJi 
FOlIGlIiTlIE 



The present Emperor of Russia visited it in 1839 ^"^ 
also left a tablet to commemorate the fact. The rigid scrutiny, 
which everything undergoes now, has spoiled the tradition 
in regard to the Tsar's residence in Zaandam, for it is now 
said that he only remained there a week m 1697, when the 
crowds which came to see him work obliged him to go to 
the dock yards at Amsterdam. Thus our golden legends 
are stolen from us ! They have destroyed William Tell ; 
Beatrice Cenci is going ; will they now take Washington's 
little hatchet ? 

But Zaandam has one other wonder besides the hut of 
Peter the Great. There are about four hundred windmills 
in the vicinity of the town. Having an hour's spare time be- 
fore the departure of the steamer, I took a walk into the 
country. The road served also as a dyke and wound around 
as though the builder was trying to increa se the distance to 
the greatest possible extent . The windmills in some places 
are as numerous as houses in a city, and the revolving 
arms which meet the eye in every direction present a 
strange appearance. My walk extended as far as one of 
the farm houses, which seemed to be of the better class. It 
was square in shape with a tall roof which sloped on each 



41 

side and was out of proportion with the lower part of the 
building. The dwelling house and the stable were under 
the same roof. Back of the house some men were engaged 
in threshing grain, but I could not distinguish the nature of 
the machinery. I only saw that they used an engine and 
thai the separator was very small. 

After returning to Amsterdam I went by rail to Utrecht. 
Although this city was founded by the Romans and rivals 
Leyden in age, although it occupies a prominent place in 
Holland history, still there is not much remaining at pres- 
ent to interest the tourist who can so easily reach more 
important relics of the past. 

In traveling on Dutch railways I was suprised at the great 
care taken to avoid accidents. The railroads are enclosed 
within hedges and no one but employees are allowed to walk 
on the track. At every crossing of a wagon road are placed 
gates with a watchman to attend to them. There is usu- 
ally but one approach to the stations, all other sides being se- 
curely fenced. At Utrecht I happened to go past the street 
leading to the station and then was compelled to walk com- 
pletely around it before I could find the way. As the dis- 
tance was over a mile, I felt it was a luxury to be free to get 
killed, which is unquestionably a part of American liberty. 



CHAPTER IIL 

BATTLE-FIELD OF WATERLOO. BRUSSELS. UP THE RHINE* 

THE CASTLED CRAGS. ARRIVAL AT STUTTGART. 



I went from Amsterdam direct by rail to Brussels via 
Rotterdam and Antwerp. The country between Rotterdam 
and Antwerp is a level plain, and the monotony of the 
journey was only interrupted by a glimpse of the ancient 
city of Dortrecht and by the passage over the bridge at the 
Hollandsch Diep . The breadth of that arm of the sea is 
over a mile and a half, and the length of the bridge exclu- 
sive of the approaches, is seven-eights of a mile. 

Not far from Brussels we passed the village of Vilvorde, 
which has great interest for Protestants from the fact that it 
was the scene of the martyrdom of William Tyndale, one 
of the early translators of the English Bible. 

At 2 P. M., we arrived at the depot at the northern end 
of the city of Brussels. As I wished to go on to Waterloo 
that afternoon, I walked directly through the city, taking 
but a brief look at the grand old market place . I bought a 
ticket for Braine P Allend, the station nearest the battle-field 
and soon found a place in a car. As I approached the end 
of my journey I kept my eyes fixed in the direction of the 
battle-field, and in my eagerness made the rather amusing 
mistake of thinking for a few minutes that a boy on a hay- 



43 

stack in the distance was the mound of the lion. But I was 
soon afterwards gratified with the sight of the genuine hill 
and on leaving the train at Braine I'Allend I took the road 
leading towards it. The way however proved longer than 
I had anticipated, and as I was passing a peasant's house I 
thought I would like to see the interior of one of them and 
quench my thirst at the same time. So I asked a woman 
who was standing at her door way, in Dutch, for a glass of 
milk. I thought that of course she spoke Flemish, but I 
soon found that she was French by her speaking "wee" like 
an orphaned pig . As I had not expected to go to Belgium 
I was totally ignorant of French. But I was determined not 
to retreat, and took out my phrase book and hunted up the 
French word. Not wishing to venture into the mazes of 
pronunciation, I pointed out the word on the page. She 
then led me into the house while she went to bring me the 
milk . I looked around me. The floor was evenly paved 
with large square brick and was sprinkled with sand. A 
crucifix stood on a table near by and made known the relig- 
ion of the house. The furniture was bleached from num- 
berless scourings, and its whiteness would not have disgraced 
a Dutch housewife. After I had drunk the delicious bever- 
age I let the good woman pick out her pay from a handful 
of Belgian silver and copper. I then continued my walk 
and soon reached the battle-field. 

The great drama of the i8th of June, 1815, was played 
upon a place worthy of its greatness. Even after visiting 
the great battle-fields of ancient history, Byron could not 
restrain his admiration for that of Waterloo. Military critics 
as well as civilians unite in declaring the field pre-eminently 



44 A student's views abroad. 

suitable for a great action. Although the battle receives its 
name from the little town of Waterloo, it took place three 
miles south of that village, immediately below a place called 
Mount St. Jean. The hills gradually decrease in size south- 
ward from Brussels, until at the battle field they appear as 
gentle undulations of the ground. Each of the two op- 
posing armies occupied one of these slightly elevated ridges 
with a valley between them . The slopes was so gradual 
that a horse need not slacken his pace in ascending them. 
The Allies were posted at the northern part of the field and 
had the inwalled farm house of La Haye Sainte as a min- 
ature fortress a little in advance of their center. The 
French army had the inn of Belle Alliance in the middle of 
their line opposite to La Haye Sainte. 

To the west midway between the hostile armies was the 
country seat of Hougomont, which was enclosed by a hedge 
and brick wall. This place was successfully held by the 
Allies in spite of the continued efforts of the French to take 
it. The principal fighting was done at Hougomont and at 
the center of the Allied line. 

The appearance of the field is much the same as at the 
time of the battle. The principal additions to the scene are 
the monuments to Col. Gordon and to the Hanoverian of- 
ficers, and the mound of the Belgian lion. This last is a 
cone-shaped heap of earth two hundred feet high, sur- 
mounted by a large bronze lion. The summit of the mound 
affords an excellent view of the country, which is entirely 
unobstructed by fences. On this elevated place 1 sat and 
watched the September sun sink in the western sky, and as 
its last beams gilded the landscape, I thought of the glory 



A student's views abroad. 45 

and the horror and the "rapture of the strife." Near the base 
of the mound the Duke of Wellington stood when he gave 
the order for the last charge. Far to the south I could see 
the hills over which the French retreated in wildest confu- 
sion after their defeat. To the east the heights were visible 
on which the Prussians under the brave Bluecher appeared 
in the afternoon of the battle and forced Napoleon to divide 
his strength, and thus contributed to his defeat. All around 
me lay the gentle slopes, every foot of which have been the 
scene of fierce conflict and cruel pain. Not until the dark- 
ness had deepened, did I descend from that mound which 
offered so many subjects for contemplation. 

Among the thousands who fought at Waterloo, who are 
unknown to fame, was the gallant Sergeant-Major Cotton, 
of the 7th Hussars. After the battle, when the field became 
an object of interest to pilgrims of every nation, he settled 
there as a guide. Unlike the majority of that profession 
he followed his specialty as a labor of love. Not a book of 
merit on the subject of the battle appeared but he secured it 
for his private study . Not a general revisited the field of 
his scars and his glory, but the sergeant from his casual re- 
marks and reminiscences gleaned some new fact for his wide 
store of knowledge. This constant contact with eye 
witnesses of the battle made the old guide familiar with every 
movement on that eventful day. To him the charge and 
the repulse were not as vague abstractions, they were real, 
real as everyday life. Until his death in 1849, ^^^ veteran 
sergeant continued at his post, and bequeathed to posterity 
a large and valuable collection of relics and a little book 
on the subject of the battle, "A Voice from Waterloo." 



46 

The sergeant's niece, now an elderl}^ lady, possesses his 
library and museum, and has built a hotel at the foot of the 
mound of the lion. It was to this refuge for the weary pil- 
grim that I retreated as the night came on. I found it fully 
in keeping with the martial memories of the place . In the 
museum there are guns, pistols, swords, bayonets, daggers, 
shot, shell, armor, coats, caps, skulls, shattered bones, and 
in short nearly everything found on a battle-field . On the 
walls there are portraits of officers of both armies and en- 
gravings of scenes in the battle. There seerns to be no 
end to the number of these warlike pictures. They are on 
every wall in the breakfast room and dining room and re- 
ception room . And even , in the bedrooms as one falls 
sleep some picture of a gallant charge weaves itself into his 
dreams. 

From Waterloo I sent some flowers to a friend in America, 
who in return sent me the following poem : 

"The roar of the battle is over, 

And only the song of the bird 
And the gentle lowing of cattle, 

On that field of blood is heard. 

Peaceful and calm is that meadow, 

With the sunlight shining o'er ; 
Peaceful and calm are the heroes, 

That sleep to wake no more. 

And over their silent faces 

This tender blossom grew, 
On the tomb of Napoleon's glory, 

On the field of Waterloo." 

—A. F. Broomhall. 

Nearly every visitor to Waterloo wishes to procure some 
relic of the great conflict. Though occasionally the peas- 
ants find bullets, buckles and other articles, the majority of 
the things offered for sale are manufactured for that pur- 



A student's views abroad. 47 

pose. I noticed in Barnum's "Struggles and Triumphs," 
that in his account of his visit to Waterloo he expressed his 
satisfaction that some one was working that branch of the 
profession of profiting by the weakness of human nature. 
For my part I take more pleasure in the flowers I brought 
from the field than in the bullets I had the frailty to buy. 

A walk of three miles brought me to Waterloo station 
where I took the train back to Brussels, which is a beauti- 
ful city. On entering the capital for the second time, I took 
a long walk, almost completely encircling the city. A large 
part of my way was along the boulevards which have been 
constructed on the site of the ancient fortifications. 

Among others I passed the Palace of the Due d'Aren- 
berg, which was once the residence of Count Egmont, who 
was unjustly executed by the Duke of Alva. A 
short distance higher up is the site of the house, where the 
protest was signed which began the struggle for liberty. At 
the same spot the banquet took place at which the subscrib- 
ers of the protest adopted the name of "beggars," which 
had been previously bestowed on them in contempt by a court- 
ier, as they were presenting their petition. 

A short distance farther I passed the palace of his maj- 
esty Leopold II. and then entered a beautiful park orna- 
mented with numerous statues. Next I visited the cathe- 
dral, a fine specimen of ecclesiatical architecture. 

After passing a column commemorating the congress of 
183 1, which completed the separation of Belgium from 
Holland, I entered the Rue Royale, at the northern end of 
which stands the house where the famous ball of the Duch- 
ess of Richmond took place on the eve of the battle of Wat- 



48 

erloo. I looked with great interest at the building, as those 
lines from Byron, being a paternal favorite, have rung in 
my ears from earliest childhood : 

" There was a sound of revelry by night, 

And Belgium's capital had gathered then 

Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright 

The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men ; 

A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when 

Music arose with its voluptuous swell, 

Soft eyes looked love to eyes which spake again, 

And all went merry as a marriage bell ; 

But hush ! hark ! a deep sound strikes likes a rising knell ! 

"Did ye not hear it ?— No ; 'twas but the wind 
Or the car rattling o'er the stony street ; 
. On with the dance 1 Let joy be unconflned ; 

No sleep till morn when youth and pleasure meet 
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet — 
But hark ! — that heavy sound breaks in once more, 
As if the clouds its echo would repeat ; ' 

' And nearer, cleerer, deadlier than before ! 

Arm ! arm ! it is— it is— the cannon's opening roar !" 

After wending my way through several attractive streets 
and passing a few monuments and statues I arrived at the 
market place. On one side I saw the grand town hall, of 
the fifteenth century. Upon the other side was the Maison 
du Roi, where Counts Egmont and Hoorne passed the last 
night of their lives, and in that square where I stood, those 
two nobles were beheaded. Our Prescott and Motley have 
made the characters of the counts familiar to the .English 
readers, but their investigations have tended to lessen our 
admiration for them, although they are regarded as national 
heroes by the Netherlanders. The only claim of these 
restless nobles to the title of patriots, seems to be the fact 
that they suffered a patriot's death, and their fate confirms 
that sententious epigram attributed to Monckton Milnes,"as 
men die, so they walk among posterity." But, whatever 
one may think of the characters of the two counts, he can- 



A student's views abroad. 49 

not help being greatly impressed with the famous square. 
He stands on ground that has been the scene of many 
tragedies, and is surrounded by the same mediaeval build- 
ings which looked down on the execution of the twenty- 
five nobles who were beheaded there by order of the Duke 
of Alva. The memory of this bloody act combmed with 
the sight of those ancient buildings, is surely sufficient to 
touch even the most indifferent. 

Not far to the south of the market place stands a not 
very modest fountain of a little boy, called the manikin. 
The water is squirted out in the natural way. Although this 
diminutive figure may not excite much admiration in the 
spectator, still it is a great favorite among the common 
people. In 1817 it was carried off by a thief and its loss 
was mourned as a public calamity. It was, however, re- 
covered, and seems now in great prosperity. It possesses 
eight suits, in one of which it is dressed on each holiday, 
and has also a salaried valet. Some years ago an old lady 
bequeathed it a thousand florins. When I first saw the 
manikin, it was in the primitive garb of nature, but on re- 
turning from Waterloo, I found it dressed in a black velvet 
suit and three cornered hat, and sheltered by a small um- 
brella. 

When darkness put an end to my sight-seeing in Brussels 
I took the train to Antwerp, and was soon walking through 
the well-lighted streets of that city. 

The most prominent feature of Antwerp is the cathedral 
tower which is 402 feet high and is visible from a great dis- 
tance. In front of the cathedral is a well with a canopy of 
iron, which was made by Quentin Massys, who was once a 



50 A STUDENT S VIEWS ABROAD. 

blacksmith but afterwards became one of Antwerp's most 
famous artists. According to legend, he fell in love with a 
painter's daughter, but was refused by her father who 
would give her to no one but a painter. The blacksmith 
did not despair, but exchanged his anvil for the palette, and 
not only won his bride, but also became a successful painter. 
It is a pleasing legend but we are assured that it is not true 
by our iconoclastic friends. 

The famous painter Rubens died at Antwerp and his 
house is still to be seen. The cathedral contains his 
masterpiece, "the descent from the cross." In addition to 
this there are a great many of his best works in the mu- 
seum. The array of masterpieces was to me perfectly be- 
wildering. 

From Antwerp I returned to Rotterdam and the next 
morning I started for Mannheim by steamer on the Rhine, 
Although the distance to the German line looks very insig- 
nificant on the map, it was quite dark before w^e came to 
Emmerich, which is the first place in Germany reached by 
the river. It was a dreary ride. High levees on each side 
hid the surrounding country from our view, and the towns 
which we passed were very small, so that there was al- 
most nothing to see. The Rhine boats are built somewhat 
like sea going vessels with high hulls. The passengers 
have very little room to move about, and after having travel- 
ed in those large floating palaces of the Mississippi, where 
one has as much variety of amusement as on land, one finds 
nothing to admire in the small, inconvenient craft which 
navigate the Rhine. 

We did however pass one famous old city before we left 



51 

the Dutch territory, and that was the ancient Nymegen, the 
site of one of Caesar's camps and one of the residences 
of Charlemagne. The city is also famous for the treaty 
which was signed there in 1678. 

The second day on the Rhine was not much more inter- 
esting than the first. It was too cold to be on deck with any 
comfort, and there was nothing but a fiat country to be seen. 
We passed Dusseldorf during the day, and this afforded me 
a temporary diversion. I saw the new building for the Acad- 
emy of Art, which is making Dusseldorf so famous, and 
farther to the south the blackened ruins of the old building 
were visible. But the bridge of boats soon opened, we 
passed through and left the city behind. As night came on 
I fell asleep and when I awoke we were lying at the wharf 
at Cologne, the city of churches. Just below us the line of 
lights on the railway bridge extended across the river, and 
above us lay the bridge of boats. I left the steamer and 
entered the gloomy-looking walls for a short walk in the 
famous city. 

Cologne has one of the most famous cathedrals of Ger- 
many. It was begun in 1248 and the work continued until 
the close of the fifteenth century, but from that time until 
1823 the cathedral remained in an unfinished state. Since 
this latter date four millions of dollars have been expended 
in finishing it. 

In order to account for the stopping in the building of the 
cathedral, the people had the following legend : The arch- 
itect had tried in vam to conceive of a plan grand enough 
for his purpose, when his sulphureous majesty offered him 
a sketch in every way suitable for the intended structure. 



52 

The shrewd builder knew that according to the time honored 
custom his soul would be demanded as the price of the gift. 
So he carefully committed the details of the plan to mem- 
ory, and then told the dealer in brimstone that it did not 
suit him. As might be supposed, the lord of the lower 
world was quite enraged to find himself thus imposed upon. 
So he told the architect that he might build his cathedral but 
he should never finish it. 

After threading the narrow streets 1 came to the vast cathe- 
dral looming up in the darkness. The scaffolding was 
still standing by the walls, and but little could be seen in the 
night. So I soon left the famous structure and after walk- 
ing sometime, 1 returned to the steamer. 

It was still dark when I went on deck the next morning, 
but I could see in the distance the lights of the university 
town of Bonn, the birth-place of the great Beethoven. It 
was bitterly cold, but my enthusiasm was not to be frozen, 
for we were at the entrance of that part of Rhine, which 
has made the river so famous for its scenery. The hills, 
which below Bonn are widely separated, come together there 
and press so closely upon the Rhine, that the stream has 
barely room to pass between the rocky walls. 

About half an hour after leaving Bonn the summit of 
Drachenfels loomed suddenly up in the darkness just at the 
river's side . As I looked up at the lofty cliff, indistinctly 
outlined in the mists of the morning, that description of 
Bryon's seemed peculiarly expressive : 

" The castled crag of Drachenfels 

Frowns o'er the wide and winding Rhine, 
Whose breast of waters broadly swells 

Between the banks which bear the vine. 
And hills all rich with blossom' d trees, 

And fields which promise corn and wine." 



53 

Farther up the river we passed the convent on the island 
of Rolandswerth in which the legend says the fair Hilde- 
gunde, the bride of Charlemagne's paladin Roland, sought 
refuge in her grief, when she heard the false rumor of the 
death of the brave knight. On the hill to the right are the 
ruins of the castle where the returned Roland lived to feast 
his eyes on the dwelling of his lost bride. 

As we proceeded up the stream, it gradually grew light- 
er, but still thick clouds obscured the sun. Yet I could not 
wish the weather otherwise, as the darkness of the day 
seemed to be in keeping with the dusky ruins that were vis- 
ible at every turn . 

The hills on the Rhine do not form a continuous chain of 
the same height, but rather a series of distinct elevations, so 
that the eye rests on a succession of gentle curves of un- 
surpassable beauty. The vines which form a prominent 
feature of the scenery, are planted in rows and trained 
upon short stakes. They do not differ much in appearance 
from Indian corn, when it is tall and green. Every availa- 
ble spot on the Rhine has been appropriated for the culti- 
vation of the grapes and the hills present a surface on 
which the bright color of the vines mingles with the deep 
brown of the rocks. 

Every traveler on this noble stream must despair of justly 
describing his sensations, or of awakening like feelings in 
the minds of his readers. The grandty flowing river, the 
green clad hills and the moss-covered ruins, all crowd upon 
the observer and produce thoughts of whose wonder and 
rapture words have no power to tell. The journey was to 
me one long poem of beauty. At one moment I was oc- 



54 A student's views abroad. 

cupied in contemplating the ruin of some old castle, whose 
gray walls seemed a part of the eternal rock which formed 
their base. At another time a little village with its ancient 
church and crumbling walls engaged my mind. The deep 
toned bells were ringmg at many of the places as we passed, 
and the merry winds seemed to be playing with the sound. 
Now they would take it away and one could hear it moan- 
ing in a distant hill . Then suddenly they would bring it 
back until it pealed joyously in our very ears. Boat-loads 
of peasants in their Sunday frocks were continually hurry- 
ing across the path of the steamer on their way to the 
churches, whose invitations were rung by the bells so clearly 
in the valley . 

In contemplating such sights I passed the morning. But 
I cannot give any detailed description of what I saw. The 
views upon the river were so uniformly beautiful that it is 
impossible to select one spot and say it was the best. I 
thought each place the loveliest while it was before me, and 
immediately forgot it in the grandeur of the next. 

Early in the afternoon we passed the mouth of the Mos- 
elle, under the frowning walls of the fortress of Ehren- 
breitstein, Rhine's Gibraltar . In a short time we reached 
the Koenigsstuhl, a tower-shaped structure, eighteen feet in 
height, which stands upon the west bank of the river. The 
four Rhenish electors formerly met there, and it has been the 
scene of the election of many of the emperors. It re- 
sembles in appearance those pictures of the tower of the 
Northmen in New England, which are given in many of 
our school histories . 

A few hours later we passed the famous cliff of Lorelei. 



55 

The rock rises almost perpendicularly from the river to a 
height of over four hundred feet. Here in the good old 
days that are gone the sirens of the Rhine appeared and 
with their irresistible beauty, enticed the fishermen to their 
destruction in the rapids which guarded their rocky home. 
This has been a favorite subject with German poets and 
nothing has done more to make the spot famous than the 
following poem by the sweet singer Heinrich Heine : 

THE LORELEI. 

I cannot divine what it meaneth, 

This haunting nameless pain ; 
A tale of the bygone ages 

Keeps brooding through my brain : 

The faint air cools in the gloaming, 

And peaceful flows the Rhine, 
The thirsty summits are drinking 

The sunset's flooding wine ; 

The loveliest maiden is sitting 

High-throned in yon blue air, 
Her golden jewels are shining, 
She combs her golden hair; 

She combs with a comb that is golden. 

And sings a weird refrain 
That steeps in a deadly enchantment t 

The list'ner's ravished brain : 

The doomed in his drifting shallop, 

Is tranced with the sad sweet tone, 
He sees not the yawning breakers, 

He sees but the maid alone : 

The pitiless billows engulf him !— 

So perish sailor and bark ; 
And this, with her baleful singing, 

Is the Lorelei's grewsome work. 

A railway tunnel pierces the cliff and the trains of this 
commercial age rather rudely jar the dwelling of the sirens 
every hour. And, I may add here, through all this region 
which has been such a favorite of the muses, ? railroad 



56 

runs along each bank of the river . When one is dreamily 
contemplating some picturesque ruin upon a neighboring 
height, it is not unfrequently the case that a locomotive v^ill 
dash across the foreground of the scene and suddenly re- 
call the lover of legends to the unpoetical moiling of to- 
day. 

We reached Bingen just before night came, passing the 
island on which the little square " mouse tower " stands. 
According to the legend which Southey has versified, the 
people of the adjoining district, " once upon a time, " after 
a failure of the harvest, begged the wicked Bishop Hatto 
for a share of his hoarded grain . At last w^earied by their 
entreaties, he summoned them to his barn, as though about to 
grant their petition ; but when they were within, he barred 
the doors and burned the building with all the people. 

" 'I' faith, 'tis an excellent bonfire V quoth he, 

'And the country is greatly obliged to me 
For ridding it, in these times forlorn, 

Of rats that only consume the corn.' " 

But his jest was turned against him and ten thousand rats 
wer^ sent for his destruction. He fled to his island tower, 
but the avengers swam the river and climbed the banks. 

" And in at the windows, and in at the door, 

And through the walls by thousands they pour. 

And down through the ceiling, and up through the floor, 

From the right and the left, from behind and before, 

From within and without, from above and below— 

And all at once to the Bishop they go. 

They have whetted their teeth against the stones, 

And now they pick the Bishop's bones ; 

They gnaw'd the flesh from every limb, 

For they were sent to do judgment on him." 

The vineyards near "Bingen on the Rhine " are said to 
be the best and most profitable in the country. The hill 
opposite the town presents a wonderful appearance. It is so 



A student's views abroad. 57 

steep that it has been formed into terraces and these are 
so numerous, thut, if it were not for the green vines, the side 
would seem like a continuous stone wall from the base to 
the summit. We can readily account for this extreme 
care for every available spot, when we remember that the 
best vineyard in the neighborhood affords the owner a 
thousand dollars an acre annually. 

As the boat lay at the wharf at Bingen I had abundant 
occupation in watching the gray-colored mills that are anch- 
ored in the middle of the river. They have side-wheels 
like a steamer which are turned by the current. Not a 
human being was to be seen on them, and their queer forms 
and constant motion gave them a strange appearance of 
weirdness. 

Besides these, I looked with great interest at a little rock 
near the opposite shore which was marked with a black 
cross. In it reposes the heart of the Rhenish historian, 
Nicholas Vogt, tutor of Prmce Metternich, of Austria. 

Above Bingen the hills recede somewhat from the river. 
But as it was growing quite dark, I took a parting look 
at a distant castle, and then went down into the cabin and 
was soon fast asleep. I had been fifteen hours on deck, 
shivering with cold it is true, but still there were such hours 
as leave a lifetime impression. To me now that journey 
seems like a dream. In the morning the " castled crags " 
rose up, and with the day they disappeared. But never 
shall I forget 

" That blending of all beauties ; streams and dells, 
Fruit, foliage, crag, wood, corn-field, mountain, vine, 
And chiefless castles breathing stern farewells 
From gray but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells." 

It was about ten o'clock in the evening when I awoke 



58 A student's views abroad. 

from a few hours sleep after the day's fatiguing experience 
of watching the vine-clad hills of the Rhine. The steamer 
was lying at the wharf, and the men were busily engaged 
in unloading a portion of the cargo. I did not have any 
doubt but that we were at the ancient city of Mayence, and 
accordingly set out to see as much as possible in the dark- 
ness. I soon found a street running perpendicular to the 
river, and bordered upon one side by what seemed to be an 
enclosed park. I walked a mile or two but could not find 
much town or many people. As there seemed to be indi- 
cations of soon getting out into the open country, I retraced 
my steps and returned to the landing place. I was consid- 
erably astonished to find nothing but the most discouraging 
looking darkness in the spot where I had left the steamer. 

The situation was not quite so bad as it would be, if one 
were suddenly set down in the night in some obscure corner 
of China, but still my knowledge of German was not suffi- 
cient to unraval so complicated a mystery and the condition 
of things began to look rather uncomfortable. However, 
before I had time to become very much alarmed, the ringing 
of a bell at an adjacent wharf announced the approach of 
another steamer. I hastened over to the office and asked 
the agent a series of questions in a language that must have 
startled him. The proverb tells us that "necessitv knows 
no law," and truly my necessity paid very little attention to 
the laws of grammar. I may have violated every rule of 
syntax, but that did not grieve me, as I succeeded in discov- 
ering that the town was Biebrich and that the approaching 
steamer was going to Mayence. 

Chuckling over my easy escape from the dilemma, I soon 



A student's views abroad. 59 

regained the Netherlands boat at Mayence and then went 
through the city wall and stumbled about in the narrow 
streets, until I found the statues of Gutenberg and Schiller. 
After getting a glimpse of the cathedral I returned to the 
steamer. 

After being delayed the next morning for some time by a 
fog, we finally reached the wharf of the town of Worms . 
There is scarcely a city in Germany around which the leg- 
ends cluster more fondly than here. On the broad plain 
by the Rhine dwelt the heroes and heroines of the Helden- 
buch and the Nibelungen Lied. Here in those glorious 
days lay the rose garden of Chriemhild, the fairest of the 
fair. Only a silken thread enclosed the ground, but the 
haughty beauty held her twelve strong champions as invinci- 
ble and challenged the great Dietrich of Bern to a trial 
of strength with her knights. The hero thus defied rose in 
a rage and with eleven trusty followers went to battle with 
the proud lady's defenders. The reward of each of the 
victors was to be a rose-wreath and a kiss from the lips of 
the fair Chriemhild, As in all legends, the end is m accord- 
ance with our sympathies, and the champions of the boast- 
ful beauty were utterly defeated. Then the conquerors 
claimed their prize and to add to the mortificatian of the 
humbled lady her "cheek, a just punishment as it seemed, 
was scratched to the drawing of blood by the rough beard" 
of one of the victors. 

This is but one of the many legends of the fairy beings 
which were created by the overflowing fancy of the nation 
in its youth. But these tales have left at least one memoral 
of their existence to this age of industry and the landing 



6o 

place opposite Worms is called Rosengarten or the garden 
of roses, Chriemhild's bower. 

If there are any who are impatient of these childish sto- 
ries, let them turn to that grand convocation of the i yth of 
April, 1 52 1, at which the great emperor, Charles the Fifth, 
presided, while around were ranged imperial electors and 
ecclesiastics in all the pomp of state. But mark ye that 
pale and emaciated form that enters the august assembly un- 
befriended and alone. The proud monarch turns to the 
ruler at his side and expresses his contempt for the stranger. 
Yet every eye is turned toward him, for it is Luther, and 
this is the grandest, the sublimest moment of his life. The 
vicar of the archbishop of Treves questions him in the name 
of the church. On the following day he stood in the same 
place, and firmly maintained the diginity of reason and the 
right of private judgment. "It is neither safe nor prudent,' 
said he finally, " to do aught against conscience. Here I 
stand, I cannot do otherwise, God help me. Amen." You 
may search the annals of all time, but you cannot find a 
nobler example of moral sublimity than this, and when the 
memory of those kings and priests shall have passed away, 
the admiration of that act will make the Diet of Worms a 
familiar name in the minds of men. 

With such thoughts it was not strange that I looked with 
great interest at the plam and town, although all has passed 
away but the ground where the famous deeds were done. 
In the time of Frederick Barbarossa 70,000 people dwelt in 
the cit}^, but the thirty years' war and the successive French 
invasions completely annihilated the buildings which were 
so famous, and Worms to-day is entirely a modern town^ 
with but 15,000 inhabitants. 



A student's views abroad. 6 1 

The journey from this point to Mannheim was very much 
like that below Cologne. The banks of the river are low 
and the view is limited. 

But I must not take leave of the steamer on which I spent 
three days and a half without saying something of the Cap- 
tain. I had seen those brutal officers of the Mississippi 
boats, who never address their inferiors in rank unless to 
curse them, and I found a great deal to admire in this partri- 
archal commander on the Rhine. He was of true German 
proportions and consequently was quite a perceptible object 
as he passed to and fro on the bridge. At times he came 
down upon the deck with his large, long stemmed porcelain 
pipe, and talked with the crew and passengers in a really 
paternal way. Mirth twinkled in his eyes and smiled on his 
lips, and oh! how he laughed when he found that 1 could 
understand neither German nor Dutch! Dyspeptics might 
have complained that our gallant officer was too fond of the 
blessings of the table; else why did he stop his boat to pick 
up a duck which one of the crew had shot? But I was 
willing to pardon such healthy thoughts, and gave my 
hearty well wishes to the jolly captain of the Rhine. 

At about eight o'clock in the evening I reached Stuttgart, 
the end of my journe}^, having come from Mannheim by 
rail, via Heidelberg. I was just a month and one day in 
coming from Circleville, and traveled almost five thousand 
miles. 



CHAPTER IV. 

WINTER AT STUTTGART. — STUDY OF THE GERMAN LAN- 
GUAGE. FATHERLAND CUSTOMS.— CHRISTMA-S IN A 

COUNTRY VILLAGE. 



Stuttgart, February 7th, 1880. 

On my arrival m this city last fall I found a comfortable 
room with Dr. Niethammer, a retired attorney. He lives 
in a flat on a beautiful square called the Feuerseeplatz 
which contains an artificial lake and an imposing new stone 
church in the most elegant Gothic style. Sunday mornings 
I am always awakened by the beautiful music from the church 
tower. 

Dr. Niethammer is a fiery Republican and full of politi- 
cal spirit. He is intelligent and companionable, though ad- 
vanced in years, and has done much to make my stay in 
Stuttgart pleasant. His flat is on the fifth story, which 
strikes an American as being a trifle high, especially in a 
country which has no elevators, but in Europe the number 
of flights of stairs seems to cut no figure. A nobleman, 
with whom I am acquainted, lives in a third story flat. The 
fifth story is therefore none too high for a simple citizen. 

I pay twelve marks or about three dollars a month for my 
furnished room and give the servant girl fifty cents a month 
in addition. The girl carries my coke, builds my fires, 
blacks my shoes every evening, cleans my clothes and runs 



A STtrDENT^S VffiWS ABROAD. 63 

my errands. Americans will agree thai she earns her fifty 
cents, although it is twice as much as she expected to re- 
ceive. 

My breakfast is furnished by my landlord at five cents 
a day. It consists of a cup of coffee and a roll, which is 
short rations for an American stomach. My dinners and 
suppers I get at a restaurant, nearly a mile from the 
Feuerseeplatz. These cost me from ten to twenty-five 
cents. It is evident, therefore, that my expenses are mod- 
erate. 

I have been studying the German language with great 
diligence all winter, under the tutorship of Prof. Christian 
Schwartz, who lived over twenty years in the southern 
States and served a short time in the Confederate army. 
Prof . Schwartz was recommended to me by a gentleman 
employed in the royal library, and I was much astonished 
to find that he had also been the tutor of Mr. George Mar- 
tin, of Lancaster, Ohio, an acquaintance and former student 
at the same college with me. Prof. Schwartz charges 
twenty-five cents for each lesson of one hour. 

Dr. Niethammer's daughter, Fraeulein Marie, speaks 
some English and helped to give me such information as I 
needed to get started at my studies. 

Among my later acquaintances is Count N., with whom 
I walk every day to Degerloch, a village on top of the 
mountain, south of the city. The count is studying English 
and our arrangement is to talk German going up the hill 
and English coming down. Occasionally other friends join 
us m our daily promenade. 

Of the four kingdoms that are comprehended in the pre- 



64 

sent German Empire, Wurtemberg stands third in size and 
last in population. In the times of Duke Ulrich, while Lu- 
ther was yet alive, the country became Protestant, but she 
has never occupied a prominent position in the national his- 
tory nor possessed rulers who have had a lasting influence 
on the culture of the empire. It is true, she has her Eber- 
hards and Ulrichs and Wilhelms, but their fame has scarcely 
penetrated beyond her own hills and forests. As the birth- 
place of men of mental power, however, this little kingdom 
ranks among the most famous ; and from many of the vil- 
lages which nestle on the hill sides around a church spire, 
like birds about their maternal protector, men have gone out 
whose praises have echoed in lands where these dukes and 
kings are never named. 

Not quite three-quarters of a century ago in the last days 
of the year 1805, Napoleon, by the treaty of Presburg after 
the battle of Austerlitz, obtained additions of territory for 
his South-German allies and royal crowns for Bavaria and 
Wurtemberg. By a timely desertion of their benefactor in 
1 81 3, the latter succeeded in retaining their gains after the 
one who had won them had been driven from the field of 
Waterloo. 

Thus Wurtemberg is forced to acknowledge that she has 
no grand historical character among her princes whose im- 
mortal deeds can give fire to the sluggish veins and lead the 
coming youth up the rugged, thorny path of fame. But she 
presents one claim which can not be disputed. She has 
more breweries to the square mile than any other land on 
the face of the earth. According to the latest statistics, 
7,777 of these beer manufacturies are at work within this 



A student's views abroad. 65 

kingdom, and produce annually 85,300,000 gallons, which 
is equivalent to 46 gallons for every man, v^oman and child 
in the State. 

Since 1 32 1 Stuttgart has been the capital of the country 
and the residence of the sovereign. The greater part of 
the cit}^ is the grow^th of the present century, and conse- 
quently she gains in beauty and cleanliness while she loses 
in historical interest . The hills, which almost surround the 
town, have left a valley which is now completely filled with 
houses . The buildings at the edges of the city rise grad- 
ually up the slope for a short distance, while beyond them 
lie the beautiful vineyards, and still higher up, the forest 
trees cap the summits. The Neckar — the scholars' Neckar 
— whose rippling waters have just passed the university town 
of Tuebingen, flows by Stuttgart's suburbs. Berg and Cann- 
statt, and hastens on toward the famous hills of Heidelberg. 
A walk of fifteen or twenty minutes up a well-kept road- 
way brings one to summits which overlook the city. I have 
sat for hours and enjoyed the views. No clouds of smoke 
as at Cincinnati, hang over the town; but one can look 
through a clear atmosphere at the dwellings, churches and 
palaces that lie far beneath him. 

The vineyards are laid out in terraces by walls and gutters 
of masonry, which contrast strangely with even the most 
particular farming in America. And then, too, the amount 
of work done by women is noticeable. They come trudg- 
ing over the hills every day, dragging heavy wagons with 
milk or market vegetables. One meets them of all ages, 
from those who are in the prime of womanhood, to those 
whose furrowed brows and drooping forms tell of long years 



66 

of toil, which have not sufficed to make old age a period of 
rest. Here one sees women working in the streets at the 
most menial labor. As I walk along and mark how a young 
girl on the threshold of life is tottering under a heavy bur- 
den, I look into her face expecting to see her upbraid the 
fate which grinds her under the wheel of toil ; but I notice 
the eyes brighten and a smile flit over the care-worn face 
when she meets the boy of her heart . There is poetry and 
sunshine, which come welling up not only in the lives of the 
rich, but even among the slaves at the tread mill . And oft 
where we look for curses we meet blessings and smiles. 

This low condition of the working classes should form an 
item in the calculations of those who think that the degra- 
dation of the laborer advances in proportion to the progress 
in the use of machinery. He should well remember that 
the rewards and comforts of the workingmen in the great 
factory towns are not less than those of these peasants, whose 
implements are of the simplest kind. The question involves 
so many and such complex principles that the decision is by 
no means as easy as many imagine . I had far less diffi- 
culty in making up my mind that a German woman of the 
lower classes works as long and as hard as a Rotterdam 

dog. 

I have said that Stuttgart is principally a modern city, 
but I may add that she has, nevertheless, three churches, 
which were built before Columbus sailed for America, and 
one old castle which was erected while Queen Elizabeth 
was ruling in England. There are many narrow streets to 
be seen bordered by houses constructed three centuries ago. 
They are mostly of that mediaeval style, having each story 
project slightly over the one under it. 



A student's views abroad. f57 

In the Neckar Strasse, near the royal palace, there is a 
gloomy looking building which is used now partly as the 
headquarters of the palace guard, but which was once the 
seat of a school established by Duke Karl Eugen, in the 
last century. From 1773 to 1780 Schiller spent the bitter 
days of his youth in this half prison, and wrote a portion 
of his first drama in moments stolen from the rigorous 
duties that were imposed upon him. Some persons affect 
to treat this dreary period of the poet's life as one whose 
trials were magnified by an aversion to discipline common 
to all school boys. But for my part I think the agonies he 
endured were as intense as those of deep affliction in the 
the prime of manhood. I know of no tragedy more mourn- 
ful than the forcing of genius into a sphere contrary to its 
nature and in defiance of its aspirations. I know of no 
thought more blighting to the heart of man than to feel im- 
mortal melodies pressing to the lips and yet be compelled to 
ape the discordant notes set by fools, until the harp strings 
are shiveled with uncouth sounds that might have given 
forth Orphean strains of beauty divine. " Will a courser 
of the sun," says Carlyle, " work softly in the harness of a 
dray-horse ? His hoofs are of fire, and his path is through 
the heavens, bringing light to all lands ; will he lumber on 
mud highways, dragging ale for earthly appetites from door 
to door ?" 

In a square next to the old castle is the famous Thor- 
waldsen's statue of Schiller, which was erected in 1839. 
The poet is clad in a long gown whose folds are partly 
gathered up by the right arm, with which he holds a pen. 
The left hand clasps a book, while the laurel-crowned head 



68 

bends slightly forward. From the attitude one would im- 
agine that he had left his desk and had been pacing the 
floor until a new thought had enrapt his mind and stopped 
him in his walk. The artist has succeeded in throwing in 
the back ground the hard features, the large acquiline nose 
and protruding under lip, which are so prominent in the 
statues at Mannheim and Mayence. I doubt if bronze ever 
represented more vividly that dreamy look which glows in 
the poet's face in the hour of inspiration. 

From the new royal residence a beautiful park stretches 
toward the north for several miles and ends finally on the 
banks of the Neckar. Four rows of magnificent forest 
trees line the walk and the carriage ways, affording a 
refreshing shelter from the summer heat. 

The old castle is an irregular building which has received 
many additions since its construction in the middle of the 
sixteenth century. It is nearly square and has large round 
towers at three of the corners. The broad moat has been 
entirely filled up, but one can still see the grooves at the 
two gateways where the draw-bridges once rested. As the 
castle is situated in the midst of the city, it, of course, loses 
much of the romantic interest which it v^^ould otherwise have. 

On passing through the gateway one enters a court in 
which stands an equestrian statue of the first Duke of Wurt- 
emberg, Eberhard im Bart. Several galleries or porches 
encircle the square, rising one above another and being sup- 
ported by numerous Corinthian columns. On one side 
before a grated window on the third story a sentinel is pacing 
to and fro. It is the chamber where the crown jewels are 
deposited. Upon the other side are the entrances to the 



A student's views abroad, 69 

royal chapel, which is used at the present day. At one end 
there is an elevated platform, where the king and the mem- 
bers of the family sit. The queen, who is a sister of Em- 
peror Alexander II. of Russia, belongs to the Greek church 
and has a chapel of her own. The king is nearly fifty- 
seven years of age, and his hair and whiskers are quite 
gray. He is rather fine-looking and appears at the chapel 
in a plain officer's uniform with sword and epaulets. Im- 
mediately in front of this platform for the royal family, 
which is protected by a railing, are the seats for the nobility. 
The rest of the space upon the ground floor is assigned to 
the ladies, while the gentlemen have places in the gallery. 
The Germans seem to be convinced that where men and 
women are gathered together the devil is in the midst of 
them, and they make it a religious duty to separate the sexes 
in the churches. 

Nothing is more noticeable to the American than the 
number of friendly salutations that are used by the Germans. 
When one walks in the country he is met everywhere with 
a cordial " Gruess Gott, " which is as untranslatable as the 
English " good-bye." As one passes along the streets at 
noon he hears in every direction parting friends saluting 
each other with a " Prosit," or a " Guten Appetit." German 
etiquette, too, requires one to doff his hat to gentlemen as 
well as to ladies. Nor is this a half hearted movement as 
in America, but one vigorous and decided. Many of these 
actions are ungraceful and some are really laughable, but 
still I thmk that the warm salutations, which are so univer- 
sal, are indicative of a national feeling of that good nature 
which prefers kindness to malice. 



70 

Sometimes I took walks on Sunday afternoons. I would 
ramble among the forests on the hill-tops, stopping occa- 
sionally to watch a party of young folks in a vineyard, who- 
would fire off a pistol and then send up a merry peal of 
laughter as it was answered by another from a distant slope- 
Sometimes I would thread my way through a village whose 
narrow streets were filled with little wagons and wine-tuns . 
Then I would return to the city, passing the unending stream 
of people that was pouring out to the numerous public re- 
sorts. Master and servant, maid and mistress, officer and 
soldier, in short, all grades of society m^ake these excursions. 
on pleasant holidays. No other place affords the same ad- 
vantages for seeing German character in its various 
phases. Readers of Goethe's Faust can obtain some idea 
of the strange contrast in the people on these walks from 
that scene before the city gate, where soldiers and students,, 
servant girls and fine ladies, laborers and profound burghes 
successively pass before the eye : 

" From the dark, low rooms, scarce habitable ; 
From the bonds of work, from trade's restriction r 
From the pressing weight of roof and gable ; 
From the narrow, crushing streets and alleys ; 
Fiom the churches' solomn and reverend night, 
All come forth to the cheerful light." 

Among the innumerable other things which attract the 
attention of an American, when he arrives in Europe^ are 
the soldiers whom he sees here on every hand . It seems 
that every knife is sharpened, every gun is primed, and all 
is in readiness for a common destruction. The energies of the 
nations are strained to their utmost to raise the means for the 
gigantic preparations. Each State watches eagerly the 
movements of the armies of its neighbors, and upon the 



71 

least provocation loudly accuses them of naming at conquest. 
War is the subject of reminiscence in America ; but in Eu- 
rope it is treated as one of the possibilities of the present. 
Each nation grinds its sabers, loads its guns and claims to 
be an apostle of peace. Some of the papers suggest, as a 
much more rational way of maintaining public trr.nquillity, 
that a congress of the jealous powers adopt a fixed and rea- 
sonable proportion of their standing armies to their popula- 
tion. Thus they would gain by common concession that 
peace which otherwise is maintained by common terror. 

The kingdom of Wurtemberg, with but 7,658 square 
miles of territory, has as many soldiers as the United States, 
with their area of over three millions. According to a 
statement published a few weeks ago, there are 3,700 men 
in garrison in this city. One meets them in all parts of the 
town, either singly or in troops. Handsome ofhcers throng 
the promenades and places of amusement. I never saw a 
set of men so uniformly fine lookmg as those who carry the 
swords of the German army. 

The life in the barracks is shared by so many that it leaves 
a lasting impression on thu national character. College life 
in America has a similar, but not such an extended influence. 
i< The awkwarl^ness of the raw recruits, the incidents on 
the watch and all the pettv adventures of lively spirits sub- 
jected to rigorous discipline combine to form a series of mem- 
ories that are never forgotten. I doubt not that every one 
of these soldiers will tell long and interesting lies in after 
years of what he did at the barracks, even as Justice Shal- 
low and all our college students spin their endless tales of 
what was done at school. 



72 

Americans think the Germans are heathen for presum- 
ing to enjoy themselves on Sunday. But they would be as- 
tonished to know that the feeling is reciprocated. The 
Protestants celebrate a great many festival days here which 
I never heard of before I came to Stuttgart. The other 
morning as the servant brought me my coffee she announced 
that it was a sacred day. I assured her that I knew noth- 
ing about it and then her contempt for the Protestants of the 
New World was unbounded . " Humph !" said she in dis- 
gust, "the Americans are of no account if they don't cele- 
brate to-day." 

Nature seems to resemble those tender hearted mothers, 
who, after severely whipping their children, give them 
sugar candy as a compensation for their pains. While the 
people of the northern zone shiver in the wintr}^ blast, they 
gain that greatest of all blessings, a home. When we are 
weary of parks and palaces, when the cold immensity of 
the heavens does but chill us, we turn with never ending 
pleasure to the memories of the cheery fireside, which 
was the delight of our childhood. 

Of all the nations of the earth perhaps none has loved 
the joys of the home better than the German. Surely no land 
has a richer store of those legends which bloom like flow- 
ers around the family hearth. The facilities for rapid 
transportation have indeed made city life almost alike the 
world over, but in the numerous villages of Germany it is 
still possible to find those customs, which the authors 
have so delighted in describing. Several years ago I read 
with intense interest the details which Richter gives in his 
autobiography, of life in a country parsonage. Since then 



A student's views abroad. 73 

I have not been more eager to see the Rhine, than to pass a 
week in a German village. At last an opportunit}^ to have 
my curiosity gratified was presented in the invitation to 
spend Christmas with a steamship acquaintance living in the 
country West of the Rhine, between the rivers Nahe and 
Moselle. So in spite of the extremely cold weather I left 
my temporary home at Stuttgart about the middle of De- 
cember, and on the evening of the second day reached 
Kirn on the Nahe, thirty-three miles from Bingen . The 
whole distance was not more than two hundred miles, but I 
had been in five states and ridden on six different trains. The 
traveler can hardly fail to wish that the Imperial Chancellor 
would expend some of his unifying force in making some 
reasonably long railways out of the innumerable short ones. 

From Kirn I went by the diligence up the Hahnenbach 
valley to Buechenbeurn. There was but one other passen- 
ger, a burly farmer, who immediately began to inquire about 
my past history and future prospects. When he found that 
I had some difficulty in understanding him, he concluded that 
I was deaf, and then shouted his questions close to my ear in 
a tone that would not have disgraced a workman in a boiler 
factory. But this unusual exercise soon exhausted him and 
he dropped back into his corner and was soon fast asleep. 
After leaving the diligence a walk of three-quarters of an 
hour brought me to Hirschfeld, which was my journey's 
end. 

As is perhaps generally known, the German farmers live 
in little villages instead of being scattered over the country 
in the independent style of America. Every one of these 
little communities has an inn, whose proprietor is usually 



74 

also a grocer on a small scale. This abundance of places 
for entertainment of the traveler has made Germany the 
pleasantest of all countries for tourists afoot. 

The first sight of a village is hardly in accordance with 
one's expectations. The houses are built to face whatever 
point of the compass was agreeable to the owner, without 
any regard to the bearings chosen by his neighbors. The 
streets are so crooked that one could easily believe that they 
had once been cow-paths. The buildings have walls of 
plaster which are strengthened by cross pieces of wood. 
The barns are frequently built from clay mixed with straw. 
As there is an abundance of slate in the neighborhood of 
Hirschfeld, these humble structures are covered with sub- 
stantial roofs. Although the snow covered the ground dur- 
ing the entire course of my visit, still I could see enough to 
convince me that the people were by no means fastidious in 
their tastes. Heaps of stable refuse lay before each dwell- 
ing as though it was considered an ornament. 

The farmers have one principal room in their houses in 
which the eating and ordinary occupations of the family 
take place. Immediately behind this is the kitchen. The 
people universally use an ingenious stove, which is built in 
the wall, so that while standing almost entirely in the main 
room, it opens out into the cooking apartment. 

As carpets are a rarity even in German cities, of course 
there are none to be seen in the villages. For the covering 
of the beds one has a mountain of feathers. When 
the national customs are summed up, I think that along with 
the pretzels, beer and tobacco, one should place the feather 
beds. 



75 

Not long after my arrival a man who was holding a dog 
by a chain, blew a flourish on a horn in the street in front of 
the house. The sheep which came running towards him 
from all directions told me plainly that this was the shep- 
herd. I was further informed by my friend that he took 
the sheep every day from the village out into the open 
country, and that the office of shepherd is a regular pro- 
fession. Later in the day another man passed along the 
street and blew a whistle, which the hogs obeyed as prompt- 
ly as the sheep did the shepherd. I was told that the busi- 
ness of swineherd was similar to the other. 

Before the close of the first day we went to the house 
of the district overseer to report m}' arrival. We did not 
have much difficulty in convincing the honest officer that the 
tranquillity of the community was not endangered by any 
machinations of mine. As it was not in his power to pro- 
nounce the name of Circleville and as his ideas of the land 
beyond the sea were rather vague, the investigation was 
not pursued very far. 

On our return to my friend's house, we passed the com- 
mon bake-oven which is used by the entire village. Every 
day I could see the house-wives going along the street bal- 
ancing on the head or shoulder a long board upon which 
were placed four or five loaves of dark-colored rye-bread. 
In this region bread of wheat flour is regarded as a luxury 
ai^d when a father returns from a journey he brings some 
rolls or buns for his children, who receive them as gladly as 
little folks would confectionery in Ohio. 

In spite of the labor-saving machinery of the world, 
the spinning-wheel still maintains its place in the Ger- 



76 A student's views abroad, 

man villages. In the evening at my friend's house the table 
was pushed back into a corner, the lamp was suspended 
from the ceiling and the girls from the neighborhood came 
in with flax and spinning wheels to spend the long winter 
evening. Soon after these came troops of young men, who 
ranged themselves along the wall upon the chairs and 
benches, and gossiped or smoked or slept, according to their 
pleasure. But all this time the girls in the center of the 
circle never ceased their skillful spinning, but constantly fed 
the insatiable wheels, while continuing the conversation with 
easy readiness at the same time. As 1 watched the groups 
before me, I could not help entertaining the fear that it was 
emblematical of the relation of the two sexes. The girls 
were working as industriously as bees, while the boys were 
maintaining the dignity of their lordship by grumbling and 
befouling the air with vile tobacco smoke. 

I thought I could discern in most of the faces about me 
a great deal of latent ability, which would find a better field 
for its exercise in the land beyond the Mississippi. The 
majority of the boys had that massiveness of feature, which 
indicates solidity of each faculty and the power of doing a 
vast amount of work. But in the little village their mental 
shrewdness is expended on such contracted themes, that even 
the sharpest and brightest minds are apt to be corroded for 
want of use. My friend had been some years in Philadelphia 
and New York City,and had very little patience with the trivial 
subjects of conversation which engaged the attention of the 
evening circles. "They are talking about dogs now," said 
he in contempt once after we had left the room, "pretty soon 
they will begin to talk about cats, and rats, and mice." A sim- 



A student's views abroad. 77 

pie-hearted old lady was one day amusing herself by ask- 
ing me such odd questions as how old my mother was when 
she was married, but her investigations were cut very short 
by an icy interruption from my friend, "you don't need to 
know that." 

After having seen the spinning of flax we went to see it 
woven into cloth. The loom was very much like those used 
by the rag carpet weavers who still linger in our land in 
spite of the great factories. I was told that a man could 
make fifteen ells in a day. The flaxen cloth is used by the 
people for bedding and clothing in the place of muslin. We 
also saw at another house some men weaving w^ool. One 
was making a piece which had two colors, and had to count 
the threads of the wool in order to know when to change 
the tints. Twenty-five cents a day with board are the 
wages of a farm-laborer, so it is possible to earn as much 
at this slow work of weaving as at the severer drudgery 
of the field 

I had hoped to find the morals of the village in that sim- 
ple condition which seems in keeping with the pariarchal 
habits of such communities . But I found the people dis- 
cussing their little scandal case like their brothers across the 
sea, and if the report is true, these peasants are as eagerly 
chasing the almighty dollar as the most accomplished leader 
in "high life." When a young man applies for the hand of 
a young lady, I was told the parents of the latter note the 
area of his piece of land and examine the store of rye he 
has in the loft, and his fate rests upon the impression pro- 
duced by these worldly goods. And even if the suitor pass- 
es through this test, his trials are not over. For when a 



78 A student's views abroad. 

couple exchange vows, they are compelled to notify the 
"higher powers" at Buechenbeurn immediately. A notice 
of the engagement is then posted in a conspicuous place at 
the village, and for three consecutive Sundays the preacher 
reads the announcement in the church. Upon the fourth 
Sabbath, if the couple has continued faithful to the end they 
can be married. 

"They could do that much quicker in America," said my 
friend. 

"How long would it take ?" asked a curious rustic. 

"Half an hour," was the laconic answer. 

Although the village is about two-thirds of the Protestant 
faith, the Catholics have a separate school. Both are much 
alike in their arrangements and their scholars are betw^een 
the ages of six and fourteen. As I wished to visit the 
schools, we called on the Protestant teacher one evening. 
He proved to be not only are presentative of higher knowl- 
edge, but also of more advanced civilization. So he soon 
conducted us from the common room into the parlor. The 
furniture was like that one sees in the German cities. In 
one corner stood a piano on which the gracious school-mas- 
ter played and sang during the course of the evening. 

On the following afternoon we went to the house again 
through a crowd of children who stared at "the American" 
as though he was a strange animal. The teacher led us up- 
stairs into the school room, and the scholars soon came 
trooping in after us. The work of the day began with the 
youngest ones on the front seats. The little foreheads be- 
came wrinkled, and the chubby, dimpled hands twitched 
nervously in the intense effort to answer the questions. 



79 

During one of the studies of animals, the teacher thundered 
out, " where is the lion found ? " " In America ! " eagerly 
answered a bright-eyed boy, who no doubt thought all kinds 
of wonders were to be found there . Thus the work went 
on until it came to serious tasks in arithmetic for the larger 
boys and girls on the back seats. I enjoyed the afternoon 
very much and was quite pleased to find the scholars had al- 
most as much trouble in getting their thoughts into grammati- 
cal German, as I had mine,. 

To many this plain village life will hardly seem to deserve 
the love which Jean Paul and many others have so warmly 
expressed for it. But all men become poets when they think 
of their childhood, and that idealizing spirit transforms the 
vilest clods into richest gems. As Emerson says, " the 
loathsome worm takes wings and flies away a beautiful, rain- 
bow tinted butterfly. " 

The approach of Christmas was the signal for a new ac- 
tivity in the little village. As I have related before, a co>Hrse-»< 
kind of rye-bread is the ordinary article of diet. But dur- 
ing the holidays every one considers himself entitled to some- 
thing better than what he has had all the year round. And 
so for several days before Christmas the housewives were 
busy kneading dough and hurrying to and from the village 
oven carrying the delicacies that were to delight the chil- 
dren as well as the old folks. If there had indeed been a 
dearth of sweetmeats at other times, there was an abund- 
ance then. Monstrous cakes several feet square were bak- 
ed as substantial additions to the fantastically shaped small 
ones for the children. Some of the fond fathers waded 
through the deep snow to the forest and brought back ever- 
green boughs for Christmas trees. 



8o 

The Germans have two festal days at Christmas (Weih- 
nachten) on the 25th and 26th of the month. The churches 
have services at both times as w^ell as on Nev^ Year's day, 
so that however it may l^e with other people, the preachers 
have no vacation at that season. 

On Christmas eve we went to a neighbor's house to see 
the brilhantly lighted tree. The children were rejoicing 
over the simple presents and indulging themselves in an im- 
moderate quantity of cake. The men set to work to cele- 
brate the evening by playing cards for walnuts, while the 
women amused themselves by asking me questions about 
America. One old lady wished to know whether I would 
have to cross the sea when I returned home. Notwithstand- 
ing the immense emigration to America, and in spite of Ger- 
many's splendid school system, there is considerable ignor- 
ance among the people in regard to the New World. 

The peaceful village of Hirschfeld is jarred by no reHg- 
ious discords . Protestants and Catholics live quietly to- 
gether and even worship in the same church. As I wished 
to attend the Christmas service I was put under the care of 
the school-master, who conducted me to his elevated seat 
near the pulpit, from which I could see both preacher and 
audience. The church was a dismal place. There was 
no fire to warm the feet of the faithful, and no elegant pews 
in which to slumber. The rough benches were almost as thick 
as they were broad and one cross-piece was the onty sup- 
port for the back. Along the front of the gallery were 
painted several dozen hideous pictures of saints, who were 
labeled in order to assist in their identification. The cold 
stone pavement and bleak looking walls added*to the general 



A student's views abroad. 8 1 

discomfort, while the snow that was blown against the win- 
dow panes looked coldly in on the shivering people. The 
only relief which the eye could find in all this dreariness 
was the two Catholic altars, whose tastefully arranged or- 
naments and flowers formed a strong contrast to the barren- 
ness that surrounded them. After the service had begun 
the schoolmaster stood up with his gloves, furs and over- 
coat and started a hymn. The people clutched their books 
with hands that were blue with cold, and let their voices 
follow his, but at such a distance behind it that they might 
have been mistaken for its echo. In answer to my anxious 
questions in regard to the comfort of the preacher, my 
friend had told me before I went to the church, that he was 
better off than the rest of the people as "he could knock his 
feet together and m that way keep warm." And as I 
watched how vigorous the speaker was in making his ges- 
tures, I could not help entertaining the suspicion that physi- 
cal as well as spiritual warmth was the object of his move- 
ments. 

After the service I went at the invitation of the school- 
master to his house to lunch. The little folks there were in 
high glee over the dolls and toys which the children's saint 
had sent them, and little Karl, a bright-eyed, three year old 
boy, seemed quite warlike with a helmet and sword. I soon 
began to feel at home at the hospitable fireside in spite of 
the difficulties of the language, and forgot the many miles 
that lay between me and my native land. The children 
called me "der Onkel'' and confidently brought me their 
playthings to be admired. As we were at the table Karl's 
mother asked him where "der Onkel" came from. "Aus 



82 A student's views abrqad. 

Amerika," answered the little fellow promptly. Of all the 
memories of my visit to Hirschfeld none will cause me 
more pleasure than that of this family circle at the vil- 
lage school-master's. 

I did not venture to the church on the second festival day 
but obtained a glimpse of something new that evenmg. 
On each of the great holidays of the year, the proprietor of 
the inn at the neighboring village of Holbrueck provides 
music at his dance-hall, to which the lads and lassies 
come from miles around. In spite of the bitterly cold wind 
my friend and I went down across the plain to see the sport. 
After climbing one flight of steps, we entered the 
large dancing-hall which had several smaller rooms 
adjoining it with tables and chairs, where the merry- 
makers rested and drank. The ceilings were not 
more than eight or nine feet high and the upper four feet of 
the atmosphere was principally smoke. I hrst thought of a 
conflagration or the .dislocation of a stove pipe, but I soon 
found that the smoke came from the vilest kind of tobacco. 
I had been on a German steamboat, in German railway 
cars, depots and restaurants, and thought I had seen some 
of the smokiest places in the world, but they were all mild 
compared to this. The wildest tales of student life never 
tell of the verdant freshman encountering such befouled at- 
mosphere as this, even at a "smoking out." The musicians 
stood on a store-box in one corner, and although their feet 
were visible, they disappeared like mountains in the clouds . 

We groped our way across the main hall and into the 
side room, and at last found some seats. After my eyes had 
become somewhat accustomed to the smoke, I saw that the 



83 

room was filled with the stout boys and girls of the country. 
Before each couple stood a bottle of wine and a glass. The 
boys were smoking and talking to their partners. Occasion- 
ally one would take up the glass and drink the smallest 
amount possible and then refilling it, he would give it to 
the girl at his side who drank a similar quantity. But soon 
a few introductory flourishes upon a horn called the dancers 
to the hall. The boys seized one of the hands of their 
partners, and they climbed over the benches together with 
an ease that would astonish the frail daughters of America. 
As soon as they reached the floor they clasped each other 
in a manner, of which the American waltz will give a remote 
idea. Thus locked in one another's arms the couples 
pranced around the room in a circle, varying the style of 
their movements according to the music. The boys looked 
blandly over the shoulders of their partners and continued 
their smoking as though they were sitting quietly in a chair. 
But the buxom maidens seemed to hold out the longest, and 
I noticed more than one fellow resign his place in the arms 
of a stout country girl to some fresh friend who had been 
standing outside of the circle. When the music ceased 
there was another scramble for the seats, and feats of agility 
were executed that would seem marvelous to the fair daugh- 
ters of the west. After we had seen the different varieties 
of dancing we made our escape to the fresh air and returned 
to Hirschfeld. 

The 27th of December is the moving day, (Wandertag). 
It is the time when the servant girls change their places, and 
is ranked among the village holida3''s. I could not see any- 
thing unusual until late in the afternoon when numerous 



84 

bands of girls passed through the streets singing and seem- 
ing to feel quite happy. When they met a woman or girl, 
a general handshaking would take place and sometimes the 
jug of whiskey which one of the party carried, w^as brought 
into use. Long after dark one could hear these singing 
groups of girls passing by the house. But it must not be 
thought that all were going to new places to work for one 
of each band was moving and the others were her compan- 
ions, who were accompanying her to her new home. 

I have spoken of pigs and sheep, men, women and chil- 
dren, but have neglected to speak of the horses. Although 
every man in Hirschfeld is a farmer, there is not more than 
half a dozen horses in the whole village The people use 
cows or oxen in their place. The reason as I was told, is 
that while a horse always decreases in value and at last is 
worth nothing, the farmers can fatten the oxen ever}^ year 
or two and sell them, and thus never lose the money they in- 
vest. Of course this kind of reasoning indicates a limited 
amount of work with no necessity of speed. 

After I had spent nine days m the village I felt that I had 
taken vacation enough, and so set out one evening to walk 
to Buechenbeurn in order to take the post to Kirn on the 
Nahe. As my friend was sick I found that two stout country 
damsels had volunteered to accompany me. Accordingly 
one seized my traveling shawl and the other my small va- 
lise, and after the farewells were said, we passed the crowd 
of villagers who had assembled to see -'the American" de- 
part, and were soon on the open plain. My friend had en- 
joined me to let the girls carry my traveling equipments and 
although I claim a little of the American chivalrous spirit, 



85 

my feeling of awe for the manly muscles of those daugh- 
ters of the plain, and a sense of my Lilliputian strength in- 
duced me to hold my peace. Soon after we had left the vil- 
lage it began to rain and blow violently. Yet the two storm- 
proof maidens went on undisturbed through the darkness, 
wind, snow and rain. After nearly an hour of rather severe 
walking we reached the ofhce at Buechenbeurn and my 
bodyguard left me with many repeated invitations to visit 
Hirschfeld again. 

At three o'clock the next morning I began the ride of 
four hours by diligence through sleeping villages down the 
Hahnenbach valley. Then I bade farewell to the Hunds- 
rueck country and returned to Stuttgart. 

I have been devoting the latter part of my stay in Stutt- 
gart to preparation for my travels in the coming summer. I 
have been reading whatever I can find relating to the his- 
tory of the places I intend to visit. 

I have also made various little excursions afoot into the 
surrounding country. One pleasant day I walked to Mar- 
bach, the birth-place of Schiller. Another day I visited 
Solitude palace. Every time the sun shines brightly it makes 
me eager to begin my summer's trip. 



CHAPTER V. 

BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER'S TOUR. HOHENSTAUFEN 

CASTLE. ULM AND AUGSBURG. THE ART TREASURES 

OF MUNICH. INNSPRUCK. OVER THE BRENNER PASS 

INTO ITALY. 



I took leave of my Stuttgart friends and started from the 
city, March 24th, for my summer's tour. I left the most of 
my baggage with a friend and carried nothing but a knap- 
sack and rubber coat as my outfit for a five months trip. 

The traveller from Stuttgart by the Rems Valley Rail- 
way on approaching the Swabian Alps obtains occasional 
glimpses of two lofty peaks which tower far above their 
fellows. One seems conical in shape, the other like a 
prism. The former is Hohenstaufen, the seat of the famous 
Swabian emperors. The latter is Rechberg, upon whose 
summit stand a ruined castle and little chapel. 

The train winds around among the hills, passes the vil- 
lage of Waldhausen, according to tradition the birth-place of 
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and skirts the hill near 
Lorch, where a Benedictine monastery stands which con- 
tains the graves of a dozen of the Hohenstaufen family. 
Finally the cars reach Gmuend, an ancient city with a fine 
location on the banks of the Rems, The Romans called it 
"the joy of the world." Here I left the train and after 



87 

spending some time in looking at the quaint buildings, I took 
my knapsack on my shoulders and set out for Rechberg. 

The road led gradually up the hill, but I turned off upon 
a foot-path which promised to be nearer. I soon came to a 
place where it was so steep that the earth was cut into rude 
steps, which looked romantic enoungh but made it fatiguing 
work to ascend. As I paused to rest, I was startled by 
shouts of childish laughter above me, and soon saw a num- 
ber of little girls with baskets coming down pell-mell 
through the forest at a rate that would have put Putnam 
and his horse to shame. 

After they passed on into the valley I picked up my knap- 
sack and started off again. The path became steeper and 
steeper and above the forest became as near to a perpendic- 
ular as was possible. A misstep would have sent me roll- 
ing down the rocks but in the animation of the moment I 
thought nothing of such possibility. I at last reached the 
summit all breathless and threw myself on the grass to re- 
cover. 

Near me on the highest point was the chapel from which 
sounded the subdued tones of the holiday service. The 
preacher's dwelling was the only other building upon the 
mountain. This spot, so far from the noise of the workman, 
has been set apart for the worship of the Unknowable and 
perhaps the peasants who leave their labors in the plains and 
ascend this mount, feel a higher and purer reverence for the 
Deity. 

Old Dr. Johnson never allowed anyone to talk of the 
w^eather in his presence, and stoutly maintained that its var- 
iations had no effect upon the human mind. If he had 



88 

traveled more he would undoubtedly have moderated his 
views and pardoned the tourist for attaching so much impor- 
tance to the nature of the weather. 

I was particularly fortunate in this respect, for not a cloud 
could be seen in the sky. It was one of those days which 
the Germans designate as Italian weather. If there was a 
slight haze perceptible, it was to be ascribed to the effect 
of the great extent of the view. Upon one side I could see 
the long chain of the Swabian Alps. The terraces and 
various colors upon their sides made it seem but a few 
weeks since the waters had dashed against their summits. 
Upon the other side my view was over a hundred villages, 
whose roofs and spires shone in the bright sunshine amid 
the forests and fields. 

I remained so long looking at the landscape that the peo- 
ple came from the church before I had departed. Taking 
my knapsack once more upon my back I hurried through 
the crowd of worshippers and went gradually down the hilL 
Before going very far I passed the ruins of the castle Hoh- 
enrechberg, whose towers and battlements can be seen for 
miles. From there I walked about four miles and a half to 
the village of Hohenstaufen which lies upon the side of the 
mountain from which its takes it name . I opened the church- 
yard gate and entered the little chapel, into which Freder- 
ick Barbarossa once walked. Under the eaves are the arms 
of many famous cities in Germany and Italy which were 
subject to the lord of this lofty mountain. The chapel was 
partly restored in i860 and the work is yet in progress. 

Leaving the churchyard I followed a good path which led 
jp the side of the peak. The summit I found also much 



89 

better arranged for the convenience of the traveler than 
Rechberg. Numerous benches are placed so as to com- 
mand the best views. A beautiful rustic building about the 
size of an American summer house has been erected for the 
protection of the visitor in unpleasant weather . There is an 
inscription over the entrance which ought to touch the heart 
of every vandal : 

"From wind and rain I screen thee 
Be kind enough to spare me." 

The ancient castle of Hohenstaufen was one of the many 
which were destroyed in the Peasants' War, and the ma- 
terial was afterwards used in building the castle at Goepp- 
ingen. All that now remains upon the peak are a few rem- 
nants of walls, but the sight of these and the magnificent 
view made me feel abundantly rewarded. The prospect is 
even better than that at Rechberg, for one can see in all di- 
rections from the same spot. 

Hohenstaufen affords an excellent opportunity to muse 
upon the mutability of human affairs. On this mountain once 
dwelt proud Emperors whose power was felt from the Med- 
iterranean to^the North Sea. To-day a few scattered stones 
alone are left to tell of what has been. The peasants who 
plow the fields under the shadow of the hill, have almost 
forgotten the nobles who ruled their fathers. Only the red 
bearded Frederick lives yet in the legends like England's 
king of the table round and the people have long expected 
that in times of trouble that the beloved emperor v/ill again 
appear and overcome all the nation's enemies. 

Taking a IcooC piece of the wall of the castle and a few 
leaves from the hillside as a memento I descended into the 



90 

plain and walked about five miles to Eislingen, a station on 
the railway. 

Early the next morning I left with the train for Ulm. As 
we proceeded we penetrated farther into the mountain range, 
and the grade became steeper and the valley narrower. The 
peculiarities of German fields soon disappeared and the 
thickly wooded peaks that lay around us differed but Httle 
in appearance from the summits of the Alleghanies. After 
reaching the elevated table-land the train ran for miles along 
its level surface and then descended toward Ulm . The im- 
mense fortifications loomed up in the distance, and as we 
drew near to the city we passed the citadel Wilhelmsburg, 
where General Mack surrendered his army of 30,000 men 
to the French in 1805, without trying to defend his flag. 

At noon the train arrived at the fine new depot at Augs- 
burg, and I set out with high expectations to view the mag- 
nificent relic of the greatness which the rich frt;e cities at- 
tained in the middle ages. The buildings on the broad 
avenues in the neighborhood of the station are entirely 
modern, but they are constructed in a style which shows 
that wealth has not yet deserted the place which once boast- 
ed of a Fugger. After wending my way through a num- 
ber of crooked streets I reached a broad one called Max- 
imilian's-Strasse, which is the main artery of the city. At 
its northern extremity stands the fountain of Augustus 
which was erected to the memory of the emperor who 
founded Augsburg and gave it his name. 

Passing down the street one sees a large, old looking 
house, which belonged to Fugger, the merchant prince of 
Augsburg. The walls are covered with frescoes, represent- 
ing events in the history of the family. 



The few collections of artistic and historical value in 
Augsburg would scarcely suffice to detain the tourist who 
is going to Munich, but the entire city is a relic of the past 
such as is seldom seen. The houses are mostly of the six- 
teenth and seventeenth centuries and are finished in a way 
that shows the riches which flowed into the merchants' 
coffers from the trade in the Levant. The streets are near- 
ly all narrow and crooked, and the aspect of the city is as 
antiquated as the Dutch towns and much finer than they in 
regard to the style of the building. 

Modern Munich has little more than its name and coat of 
arms to remind one of the austerities of the monks, after 
whom it is called. Though lying on a plain that is swept 
by the cold winds of the Alps, art and wealth have 
raised the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria to one of the 
finest cities of Europe, whose influence is felt in all parts of 
the world and whose praises are on the lips of every trav- 
eler. Here are fine palaces and churches, magnificent 
avenues and gates in endless variety and unsurpassable 
taste. One might well wonder what astonishment this 
scene would give to the great Roman Tacitus who looked 
upon Germany much as we regard the island of Iceland. 
And rightly might he marvel at the change that has come 
over the bleak, inhospitable country , 

The treasures of painting here are contained principally 
in the old and new Pinakothek . The former is a gallery 
of works of the old masters of the Dutch, Italian, Spanish 
and German schools. Though perhaps none of the first 
three can be as fully studied here as in their nacive countries, 
still it is a collection that may well deserve the attention of 



92 

the artist. Rubens' best works are to be seen in Antwerp, 
but even here are twenty or thirty of his paintings that 
should not be neglected by his admirers. Murillo's pictures 
are to be studied in Spain, but his "beggar boys" are the 
admiration of the visitors to the old Pinakothek. Finally 
many of the famous works of Raphael, Titian, and the 
other Italian masters can only be found transplanted upon 
this northern land. 

On the south side of the building is a long gallery, called 
the Loggien, which is finely decorated with frescoes repre- 
senting mcidents in the lives of the great artists and alle- 
gorical paintings in honor of the patrons of the wielders 
of brush and chisel. The minute details of the work are so 
well done that one feels repaid for the pains he gets in 
straining his neck to contemplate the ceiling. 

The new Pinakothek is a collection of modern paintings. 
The outer walls are adorned with frescoes, but those on the 
south and west sides are almost completely destroyed by 
the heat of the sun. The contents of the gallery are of 
course not so interesting as those of the masters in the old 
Pinakothek, yet they have an especial interest from the fact 
that many of them represent incidents in modern history. 
The last Franco-German War has already formed the 
subject for a large number of paintings, so that one can now 
turn from the rusty old pictures of the combats of knights 
to the more prosy battles where cannon and musket play the 
leading part. 

The Glyptothek is the treasury where Munich's pos- 
sessions in sculpture are stored. It is a building in chaste 
Ionic style with statues of the masters in niches in the walls. 



A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 93 

The first hall that one enters contains several strange look- 
ing Assyrian bas-reliefs. The second has a number of 
specimens of Egyptian sculpture of different periods, from 
the rude, unnatural statues of the age before the Ptolemies 
down to the finer finished ones which show^ the influence of 
the Greeks and Romans. In the center of the hall stands 
one of those obelisks of syenite which have been the chief 
object of plunder among the Europeans who have visited 
the land of the pvramids. The remaining rooms are filled 
with statues and busts of the different periods of Roman 
and Greek art. It is pleasant to look at the long series of 
busts which are nearly two thousand years old and which 
represent those great men whom we hate most bitterly in our 
early school days and afterwards learn to love. The en- 
tire collection was to me exceedingly interesting and I would 
willingly have devoted a longer time to its study. 

South-west of the city in the midst of a broad common 
stands a tall figure which seems of moderate dimensions 
when contemplated from a distance, but which is one of the 
largest statues in the world . It is 62 feet high, has seventy- 
eight tons of metal and cost $97,000 exclusive of the ped- 
estal. After having obtained a candle of the custodian I 
ascended the stairs upon the inside. After winding round 
and round until I had climbed a hundred and twenty-six 
steps I reached the top and entered the monstrous head. In 
front of me I could see the shape of the eyes and nose, 
which are betw^een one and two feet in length . Upon each 
side is a seat of metal which is cast to resemble a cushion . 
While I was looking through the little openings toward the 
^^ty? ^ great, burly German came puffing up the steps and 



g^ A STUiDENT S VIEWS^ AFRQAH. 

squeezed himself through the narrow entrance. Pretty soors 
two more came up and the head seemed nearly full. The 
figure represents Bavaria standing by a crouching lion with 
an uplifted wreath in one hand and a sheathed sword in the 
other. It was Ijegun Oct. 15th, 1843, and finished Oct. iSth,, 
1853. " This colossus, " says the inscription, " erected by 
Ludwig I.,, King of Bavaria, is planned and modeled by 
Ludwig von Schwanthaler, and was cast in bronze in the 
years 1844-1850 and set up by Ferd, Miller. " 

Just behind the statue is the Hall of Fame, an open 
structure with Doric columns. It contains a large number 
of busts of distinguished Bavarians from the early times 
down to the present. The student finds many faces among 
them that he has long since learned to honor^ but the artist 
is still more gratified as the majority of them have been of 
his profession. 

In this city of statues nothing would be more suitable 
than a visit to the place where many of them were cast, and 
an inspection of Miller's foundry is especially interesting to 
Americans, as some of the best monuments in our land are 
from his workshop. So I walked to the northern end of 
the city, and spent several very agreeable hours in the royal 
establishment. The men were engaged upon two large sub- 
jects. One was an equestrian statue of the prince of Ser- 
via, which is almost finished and is destined to be erected in 
Belgrade. The other is an immense statue of Germania, 
which is to be placed on the summit of the hill opposite 
Bingen on the Rhine, as a monument to commemorate nat- 
ional unity. 

The* guide who conducted me through the building was a 



A student's views abroatx 95 

^ood natured fellow, and became particularly gracious when 
lie found that I was an American. After he had delivered 
himself of his usual speech for each subject he was glad to 
gain any information in regard to our country. Many of 
the models have been preserved and some of them looked 
quite familiar. Only a few fragments of the Cincinnati 
fountain remam, but there are still a large number of others 
to be seen which are well known. Among them are the 
capital doors at Washington, Lincoln and the slave, the 
Washington statue at Richmond and the soldiers' mon- 
ument at the Cincinnati cemetery. 

When I awoke on the morning I had fixed for my depart- 
ure from Munich I heard the unwelcome sound of falling 
rain . Hoping I might be mistaken, I went to the window 
and found my impression was only too true. The chilling 
wind from the Alps seemed all the colder for the bright 
spring sunshine of the previous weeks. As I had no time 
lo wait for pleasant weather, I was forced to abandon the 
long cherished plan of 5 journey afoot across the country to 
Innspruck by way of the Bavarian Lakes, and be contented 
with the sights of a trip by rail. After shivering through the 
rain to take a farewell look at the old Frauenkirche, I accord- 
ingly left Munich by the train for Rosenheim, 

After going several hours along the elevated plain upon 
which Munich stands, we entered a more uneven country. 
The clouds which still lingered in the southern sky seemed 
almost transparent. Presently they began to drift away, 
revealing the snow-capped summits of the Alps. Peak 
rose over peak, until it was impossible to distinguish moun- 
tains from clouds. 



g6 A si*udent's views abroad. 

Changing cars at Rosenheim we started up the valley of 
the Inn. The way became constantly narrower, until the 
snowy summits towered far above us on each side. Towards 
evening we passed a chapel by the road side, which was 
built to commemorate the parting of the Queen of Bavaria 
in 1833, with her son, Otto, who was on his way to accept 
the crown of Greece. Immediately afterwards we crossed 
the frontier and entered the empire of Austria. A few min 
utes later the train rolled into the depot of Kufstein, where 
we alighted for the custom house inspection; I threw my 
knapsack down before an officer, who was evidently con- 
vinced that there could be nothing contraband in such a re- 
ceptacle. He merely asked me if I had any tobacco. Upon 
my answering with an emphatic negative, he said with a 
flourish of the hand, "ganz recht, all right." 

As it was already late and I wished to travel in this in- 
teresting land by daylight, I concluded to spend the night 
in Kufstein. The town has a fine location in the valley 
upon the right bank of the river. l!i the center a lofty and 
solitary rock rises abruptly from the plain and is crowned by 
an impregnable fortress. Only one steep path leads to this 
Gibralter of Tyrol, and all provisions and supplies are drawn 
up by means of an incHned place. Modern cannon might 
produce some effect upon the battlements, but to the un- 
skilled eyes of a civilian starvation seems the only enemy 
that could conquer its defenders. 

I found the style of the peasants' cottages in Kufstein al- 
ready different from those of Southern Germany. The high 
roofs and plaster walls with painted wooden supports, which 
one sees everywhere in Swabiahad disappeared entirely. In 



91 

their place were low houses with flat, wide-spreading eaves, 
which are characteristic of Alpine scenery. Along the 
fronts upon a level with the attics are balconies with railings 
of carved wood. The roofs are covered with immense 
stones as a precaution against storms . The hats which the 
peasants wear, partake of the same tendency as the houses, 
for they are broad brimmed and flat. 

I could detect in the faces of the people the influence of 
the mountains. The eyes were brighter and indicated a 
quicker working of the mind than among the sluggish 
Swabians. The maidens, too, were blessed with more 
beauty than their cousins of the north. 

The temperature at Kufstein was rather cool and the 
sight of the snow on the mountains did not tend to lessen 
the sense of coldness. When I left the next morning the 
ground was white with the heavy frost. The cars were 
without fire and I shivered so on the way that I was per- 
fectly indifferent to the scenerv. As I alighted at Innspruck, 
I was almost numb with the cold, but there was no fire at the 
station. I suppose the natives are used to it, but I felt like 
taking the next train south. 

The chief curiosity of the city is the church of the Fran- 
ciscans which was built in the middle of the sixteenth cent- 
ury. At the left of the entrance is the monument which 
covers the ashes of Andreas Hofer, whose very name sends 
a thrill to the heart of eveiy lover of liberty. His remains 
w^ere in Mantua from the time he was shot by order of Na- 
poleon, until 1823, when a battalion of Tyrolese brought 
them to Innspruck, where they now rest in honor. It is 
needless for me to praise the mountaineer. His name is 



98 

venerated by his countrymen as much and as deservedly 
as the Revolutionary heroes are among us. 

But the chief object of attraction in the church is the mag- 
nificent monument of Emperor Maximilian I., according to 
whose will the church was erected. He also wished his 
bones to re:5t here, but this was not co;Tiplied with by 
his successor and they lie at his birthplace, Wiener-Neu- 
stadt, a city about thirty miles south of Vienna. The mon- 
ument consists of a large sarcophagus, upon which the em- 
peror is represented kneeling, while around it are ranged 
the colossal statues of twenty-eight heroes, which the ob- 
server is to consider as pall-bearers and attendants, although 
they in reality stand entirely apart. The figure, which is 
universally considered as the best executed, is that of Arthur, 
King of England . It has a certain grace of posture which 
the majority of the others lack. The sarcophagus itself is 
covered with twenty-four bas-rehefs in marble representing 
historical scenes. The work is extremely delicately wrought 
and commands general admiration. The famous sculptor 
Thorwaldsen pronounced them masterpieces of their kind. 
There is also another event which makes the church his- 
torically interesting. Christina of Sweden, daughter of 
Gustavus Adolphus, the champion of Protestantism, made 
a pubHc confession of the Catholic faith here on the 3d of 
November, 1654. 

In the Nation's Museum are a great many relics of the 
struggle for freedom in 1809. Portions of Andreas Hofer's 
dress, his amulet, sword and gun, and specimens of money 
coined under his administration are exhibited together with 
similar articles that were made sacred by having been used 
by his fellow-leaders. 



A student's views abroad. 99 

I left Innspruck in a snow storm not at all sorry that I was 
again going toward the south. Soon after leaving the sta- 
tion we passed through a tunnel and then the character of 
the scenery became changed. At Innspruck the railroad 
parts with the broad and fertile valley of the Inn and follows 
the course of its tributary, the Sill, which plunges down a 
narrow gorge that is wild and picturesque. The snow at 
first was but a thin coat that lay lightly on the boughs of 
the evergreens, and only made them brighter and fresher. 
The grass too was visible and the entire landscape had that 
pleasing appearance which we like so much in the first snow 
of a season. Around the peaks overhead rolled the thick 
clonds, while far below it the water dashed foaming down 
the rocky channel. 

Tunnel followed tunnel as we went on up the mountain 
range, and the character of the landscape was again chang- 
ed. The snow became deeper and deeper until all the veg- 
etation was hidden and it seemed we had returned again to 
the time of mid-winter. Meanwhile the valley became 
broader, cultivated land appeared and towns were occasion- 
ally passed. When we stopped at a station, we could see 
the people wading slowly about in the snow^ in a way that 
seemed dreary enough to those who had but a few 
hours previous seen the sun shining brightly on the bud- 
ding fields of Southern Germany. 

At several places along the line we saw traces of ava- 
lanches and land-slides and this naturally gave rise to some 
comment among the passengers. As children tell ghost 
stories at night and sailors during a storm relate harrow^ing 
tales of shipwreck, so it was equally appropriate that the 



lOO 

snowy peaks of the Alps should lead my companions to 
speak of the disasters of the past. Wild and weird seemed 
the tales that were told of the dread avalanche's destructive 
falls, and as we whirled round a curve a young man point- 
ed to an immense mass of rock that had come from the sum- 
mit and destroyed the road and railway track. 

Before reaching the top of the mountain range v^e pass- 
ed the Lake of Brenner, which is the source of the river 
Sill, which we had followed from Innspruck. It was com- 
pletely covered with ice. About noon we arrived at Bren- 
ner station, the highest point on the road. It is 4,485 feet 
above the ocean level and forms the watershed between the 
Black and Adriatic seas. 

The train stopped fiye minutes to give us an opportunity 
to get a farewell German lunch of bread and sauscige before 
descending into Italy. The snow lay five or six inches deep 
on the ground and there was nothing to tempt us to tarry. 
Just south of the station the Eisak comes plunging down 
the mountain side in beautiful, though diminutive waterfalls. 
Down the valley worn by this stream the railroad picks its 
way, making at times great bends to avoid an obstruction, 
and at others dashing boldly through the heart of a peak . 
The descent was very rapid. 

The horse-shoe curve on the Pennsylvania railway is the 
object of considerable admiration, but it is far surpassed by 
the bends in the Brenner road. The most remarkable of 
these is south of the summit, where one can see the track 
hundreds of feet almost perpendicularly below him. In 
summer great numbers of people leave the cars at the 
station on the hill and descend by a foot-path to another 



lOI 

station below, where they arrive ten minutes before the train. 
Nor is this all, for the lady opposite me said one could en- 
joy in the interval a glass of beer at the excellent brewery 
near the depot. But as the snow was on the ground when 
we passed, not even this could induce anyone to leave their 
seats and go down a-foot. 

The traces of a warmer climate soon began to be visible. 
The pines gave place to chestnut trees and vineyards. 
Even the manner of cultivation of the grapes betokened the 
nearness to Italy. Instead of bemg closely trimmed and 
fastened to short stakes as in the unfavorable climate of 
Germany, the vines are allowed to grow long and are 
trained upon trellises. The character of the people became 
different. The sun-browned Tyrolese disappeared with his 
big blue umbrella and in his stead came the still darker 
skinned Italian. All my German companions left me be- 
fore reaching Botzen and their hearty good wishes were the 
farewell sounds of the northern tongue. I then amused 
myself with listening to the musical accents of the new pas- 
sengers. The language seemed as melodious as the mur- 
mur of a brook, and our northern words in comparison were 
as harsh as the clash and clatter of a factory loom. 

Toward evening we arrived at Trent, where I had de- 
termined to spend the night. Starting out in search of the 
"albergo," which I had chosen, I made my first inquiries in 
German, but was answered in the other language. The 
next time 1 stopped a soldier and let off at him a portion of 
my stock of Italian. The fellow looked at me despairingly 
and said quickly : "Ich versteh' Italienisch nicht . " Well, I 
thought, this is rather mixed. Again as I was entering the 



I02 

inn a couple of German soldiers across the street called 
over to me : "Hey ; you're a German, are you not ?" 

After getting my baggage safely in my room I went for a 
look at the place. Trent is supposed to have been founded 
by the Etruscans and has the appearance of a genuine 
Italian town. The flat roofs of the houses are covered 
with queer tiles, whose variations of black and white make 
them seem like the crumbling stones of a ruin. As in many 
other places the city wall is completely preserved except on 
the side where the nineteenth century has demanded space for 
a railroad. The numerous high fences of stone, the fantastic 
shapes of the houses and the occasional beggars lounging 
in the streets were among the many indications of the Italian 
nature of the town . 

I visited several of the churches and among the others 
was the one in which the celebrated Council of Trent was 
held. Across from my room stood an old structure with 
battlements and towers which was used as the barracks for 
the troops. In the courtyard in the rear of the inn a foun- 
tain noisily poured forth a constant stream. In the midst of 
such surroundings I could dream of the sunny clime of the 
south, although the sky was black with clouds and the 
snow-capped mountains were visible upon every side of the 
city. 



CHAPTER VI. 



AND THE PALACE OF THE DOGES. RAVENNA.^AR- 

RIVAL AT NAPLES. 



From Trent I went by rail to Verona, where I saw the 
arena, an amphitheater which is supposed to have been erect- 
ed in the reign of Diocletian about the year 284 of our era . 
As the first specimen of a Roman circus which I had seen, 
it was of course very interesting. The outer wall is com- 
posed of a series of arches rising one above the other. It 
is of the same class of structures as the coliseum at Rome. 
As I had not yet seen that monster, I could not look upon the 
arena as a thing of no consequence. 

It would be needless to describe the churches which I 
visited, even if I could . A few days in Italy are sufficient 
to show one the hopelessness of any such attempt. A 
splendid prospect of lofty arches and a confusing array of 
paintings along the walls are what the traveler sees on every 
hand, and he is unable to recall the impression produced by 
the different churches as a whole, much less of the thous- 
and details of their interiors. 

But I must not neglect to tell of another excursion which 
I made, that will probably be of interest. The name of 
Verona has been pubHshed more in the distant world by 



i04 

m 

Shakespeare's plays than by any other means, and even the 
least sentimental traveler has a desire to see the tomb of 
Juliet. Having gone through a great many narrow and 
crooked alleys and passed the old city wall, I was suddenly 
accosted by several children, who danced about me crying, 
"Tomba di Giulietta." Following them I was admitted by a 
porter into the garden of a suppressed monastery. He con- 
ducted me along a narrow path which terminated in an ugly 
apartment of a house. The walls are rough and upon one 
side stands a sarcophagus that is still rougher. It is of red 
Verona marble without anything resembling a lid. A slight 
depression at one end marks the place where the head was 
supposed to rest. The scene was barren of everything to 
excite a poet's imagination, especially as the skeptical loudly 
maintain that there is no authority whatever for calling it 
the tomb of Juliet. Upon a table in one corner of the 
room I saw some copies of the drama in English, German 
and Italian. Above the sarcophagus a number of withered 
wreaths and bouquets are suspended to commemorate var- 
ious visits to the shrine of unfortunate love. A card at- 
tached to one of these, bears the name of a descendant of 
the "thousand souled" bard who visited the place in 1874. 
From Verona I went direct to Venice, "the city of a 
hundred isles," whose mouldering palaces and great ca- 
nals would indeed be a favorite with the traveler apart 
from any other association, but genius has made them doubly 
sacred and the charm of history is mingled with that of 
romance. 

"Ours is a trophy that will not decay 
With the Rialto : Shylock and the Moor, 
And Pierra, cannot be swept or worn away— 
The keystones of the arch ; though all were o'er, 
For us repeopled were the solitary shore." 



J«5 

EveTybody has a foolish desire for auspicious beginnings 
and lays ^especial stress upon the character of first impres- 
sions* I longed to draw near to the romantic cit}^ in the 
favoring light of an unclouded sky and see her as Byron 
taught me to expect. 

"A sesrCybele ftresh from oceaii, 

Rising ttritii bet tiara of ptood towers 
At airy distance, with majestic motion, 

A ruler of th« waters an^ tSael* powers.''' 

But in all this I was disappointed, I left Verona in the 
afternoon in the rain. A glimpse of the steeples of Vin- 
cenzia and Padua and the sight of the flooded country were 
the preparations for my entry into the city that we deem 
within the bounds of fairy land. It grew dark and the rain 
beat dismally against the windows. Here and there the car 
door was opened to admit a passenger dripping with water 
or to allow one to go out into the darkness and rain. The 
bells at the station sounded uncertain and mournful. The 
railroad agents shouted huskily. But above all we could 
hear the constant, depressing sound of the falling flood. 
The train lights emitted a funereal gleam upon the dark wa- 
ters of the lagune as we dashed over the long bridge to 
reach the island city, I disembarked at the station and 
pushed my way through the dense crowds of passengers 
and noisy porters until I reached the quay. The grand 
canal was covered with boats of all kinds and each boat- 
man was shouting at the top of his voice in a jargon that no 
stranger could understand. An officer in a great rubber 
coat accosted me: 

"Una barca ?'' inquired he . 

*'Nein, I want a gondola," said 1, slightly mixed. 



io6 A student's views abroad. 

After considerable preliminary shouting a gondola came 
up to the steps, and the boatman assisted me to descend in- 
to the box that is fitted up for the traveler. After gWing 
the name of my hotel to the gondolier, he went back to his 
post and I settled myself in my seat to enjoy the ride as well 
as possible under the circumstances. The form of the gondola 
is known to everyone. The low, narrow box in the middle 
has a place for one or two persons. There are windows in 
front and at the two sides and the passenger can stretch 
himself out at full length and enjoy an admirable view. 
Mark Twain's comparison of the whole thing to a hearse 
is good. The gondolier stands at the stern and works a sin- 
gle oar upon a pin which gives the boat a rocking motion 
from side to side. 

I pushed back the blinds after my gondolier had shoved 
off from the wharf, and had considerable pleasure in the 
trip in spite of rain and clouds. The palaces loomed up 
darkly from the banks of the canal and we glided along past 
the occasional lamps, whose light gleamed on the face of 
the water, and all the unpleasant realities of stormy weather 
could not dispel the poetic effect of such a scene. 

Just before reaching the Rialto my boatman left the grand 
canal and began picking his way through a series of narrow 
channels, where his progress seemed almost miraculous. 
Not even once in the entire voyage did the numerous pro- 
jecting obstacles scrape the sides of the gondola, so great 
is the skill of the boatmen. I finally saw some masts at the 
end of the narrow canal in which we were going and re- 
cognized that I was approaching my destination. We soon 
passed under a bridge which I almost instinctively felt was 



A student's views abroad. 107 

the Bridge of Sighs, that mournfully interesting relic of a 
bigoted age. A thrill of joyful s uprise came over me as we 
gHded out into the broad channel and I saw the Doges' pal- 
ace and the column with the winged lion of St. Mark upon 
the right. A few minutes later we reached the wharf. 
The gondolier opened the door and said, " ecco, here it is!" 
I was pleased so much with my first ride that I did not 
grumble when I was charged double the tariff. 

The hotel in which I had chosen to rest is on the grand 
canal, and the view the next morning was quite entertaining. 
In the broad channel lay several steamships and a number 
of saihng vessels and flitting about among these were hun- 
dreds of small boats. To the south the spires of the 
churches on the opposite islands terminated the view, while 
toward the east the Adriatic could be seen as far as the eye 
could reach. On the quay in front of the hotel the gondo- 
liers and fruit-sellers were keeping up a constant confusion 
by their discordant cries. 

After visiting St. Mark's, the palace of the Doges, and 
some other places I spent a great deal of time in threading 
the narrow lanes that form a net work of communication 
throughout all Venice. Strangers are apt to think that the 
island city has no streets whatever and even the shortest trip 
must be made by water. But this is a mistake. Venice has 
as many land passages for pedestrians as any other city in 
Europe, although some of them are scarcely a yard wide . 
For ordinary purposes these lan^s are used by the people 
exactly as pavements are in other places. The gondolas 
represent the carriages and the larger boats the wagons 
of heavier traffic. A workman no more expects to go to 



I08 A STUDETNT'Sr VIEWS ABRQAI?. 

his business in a gondola in Venice than one does to use a 
cab in America. 

The narrow lanes have a great many bends and oftera 
seem to end abruptly in a brick wall. I walked about re- 
gardless of the pK>ints of the compass, trusting the paths 
would lead me somewhere. Occasionally I would fail to 
find an outlet and would be compelled to retrace my stepSy 
which was by no means facilitated by the hooting urchins 
who delight in tormenting foreigners. In spite of the dis- 
couraging stares of the natives^ I followed the narrow 
lanes into all quarters and saw the vai*iou& shades of Vene- 
tian life. At one part I met the dainty mustached, gold 
ringed, nice young gentleman with little feet and smaller 
brains ; at another I passed the squalid mother chasing 
strange animals among the tattered locks of her child. 

In walking in the extreme eastern end of the city I came 
unexpectedly upon the park. It is rather limited in extent 
and conveys but a feeble idea of the bright green earth oo 
the mainland. Yet there undoubtedly are thousands in the 
city who have never seen a larger piece of vegetation than 
this. I was stiU more surprised to find within the enclosure 
a track marked as a "course for horses." Upon it a man 
was riding a little nag as fast as it could go, trying to get 
a taste of the joys of equestrianism. It was the only horse 
which I saw in Venice and it seemed rediculous to see him- 
used in such a way. But of course it is quite natural that 
the natives of the city shovild place an extravagant value up- 
on such a ride, however small it might be. 

Altogether there is a great deal m Venice to remind the 
traveler of the cities of Holland. Of course this has much 



A STUDENT S VIEWS ABROAD. IO9 

more romantic interest than the prosy, commercial towns of 
the Dutch, but the aspect of the canals is very similar. For 
a dreamy ride I prefer a gondola in Venice, but for the or- 
dinar}^ purposes of life the clean, honest, hard working na- 
tives of Holland are by far the best. 

St. Mark's Square has long been the center of life in Ven- 
ice. The famous church and the palace of the Doges 
border it upon one side, and formerly the chief ofhces 
of the government were located in this vicinity. By the 
water's edge stand two columns, upon one of which is the 
winged lion of St. Mark, the patron saint of the city. 
Upon the other is the emblem of St. Theodore, the pro- 
tector of the old republic. 

Between these two slender marble pillars, on the quay, 
which were themselves trophies of the conquering arms of 
the city, formerly took place the reception and parting of 
the great generals who maintained the dignity of Venice 
abroad . 

Many a brave Venetian soldier has been nerved in the 
hour of battle by the ambition of a triumphal entry under 
the shadow of the winged lion . The proudest bearers of 
the triple crown and the bravest of the emperors of the 
North have landed at these columns, not disdaining to be the 
guests of the mistress of the sea. Indeed this place was 
woven into the affections of the Venetians as deeply as the 
forum was in those of the Romans. Here was to be seen 
all the glory of their native city. The masterpieces of art 
and the trophies of a hundred campaigns were visible on 
every hand. In the distance the blue Adriatic smiled upon 
her lord, and here the Venetian might stand and utter with 



no 

truth those seemingly extravagant words of the younger 
Foscari : 

"My beautiful, my own, 
My only Venice— this is breath I Thy breeze, 
Thine Adrian sea-breeze, how it fans my face ! 
Thy very winds feel native to my veins, 
And cool them into calmness." 

The fantastic architecture of the church of St. Mark is 
the first thing that attracts the attention of the stranger. It 
was begun nine centuries ago, and is built in a combination 
of styles. It has a large dome in the center and a smaller 
one upon each side. The facade is in the form of five 
arches supported by an immense number of varied colored 
columns. Above these are historical scenes in rich mosaics. 
Immediately in front of the portals are three tall flag-staffs, 
from which once floated the colors of Cyprus, Candia and 
the Morea, in token of the sovereignty of Venice over 
those lands. Above the entrance are four bronze horses 
which have had a checkered history. Probably of Roman 
origin, they successively adorned several triumphal arches, 
were carried by Constantine to his new capital, and were 
brought to Venice by the Venetian conquerors. They were 
taken to Paris by Napoleon in 1797, but were restored in 
1815 to their former place, where they have since remained. 

The exterior of the church conveys an admirable idea of 
the wealth of the old Republic. The style is of Oriental 
magnificence, such as could only come from the lavish hands 
of princes. 

The interior is fully as magnificent as the exterior. A 
beautiful mosaic pavement covers the floor, while the col- 
umns and vaulting are adorned with scenes on different sub- 
jects, also in rich mosaic. This magnificence, however, seems 



Ill 

to attract more visitors than worshipers, and the crowds of 
priests pursue their service almost alone. The church was 
dedicated to St, Mark, whose remains are said to have been 
brought to Venice from Alexandria in the year 829, but it 
also contains some other relics which might well be consid- 
ered interesting, if there were not so many similar ones in 
Europe, Among these wonders are "a piece of the true 
cross, " " a portion of the skull of John the Baptist ^' and 
*' a vase containing blood of the the Savior. " I saw a pict- 
ure in the Academy of Fine Arts which represents the mi- 
raculous discovery of the "true cross" in one of the canals. 
The adjacent bridges and windows are thronged with spec- 
tators, who piously contemplate the scene. Under the 
water can be noticed the long robed forms of several priests 
who are diligently searching after the treasure, while in the 
center is another who has just appeared above the surface, 
holding aloft the sacred relic in triumph. 

On the north side of the church, upon the exterior, is the 
tomb of Daniel Manin, who was President of the short-lived 
Republic which was established when the Austrians were 
expelled from Venice in 1848. The monument was cover- 
ed with fresh wreaths, which shows that he is still remem- 
bered kindly by the Venetians. One of the floral testi- 
monials bore the familiar name of Garibaldi, and the date 
showed that it had been but recently deposited there. 

South of the chuch stands the great palace of the Doges, 
which is as unique if not as magnificent as the cathedral it- 
self. The wings of the building leave an irregular shaped 
court in the center, and around this runs a gallery, which is 
at present ornamented with statues of distinguished natives 
of Venetia from ancient times down to the present. 



112 

The principal apartment of the palace is the grand coun- 
cil chamber, where the highest nobility formerly held their 
assemblies. Its walls are covered with historical paintings, 
except the wall back of the President's chair, which bears a 
picture of paradise. Of course it represents a multitude 
engaged m those silly occupations which some people dream 
will be the business of the future world, but which would 
scarce suffice to amuse the simple fancy of a child for a mo- 
ment, much less still the comphcated wants of a rational 
man for eternity. The principal interest, however, attached 
to the picture is an account of its being the largest oil-paint- 
ing in the world. 

On the frieze of the hall are seventy-six portraits qf dif- 
ferent Doges who have ruled in Venice. I looked with a 
great deal of interest at the black tablet which covers the 
place appropriated to Marino Faliero, and which produced 
such an impression upon the mind of Byron. He said 
truly that the black space causes more interest than any of 
the monotonous row of faces. The mscription in Latin 
proclaims that "this is the place of Marino Faliero, behead- 
ed for his crimes." 

I next turned my steps toward the famous Bridge of 
Sighs, which connects the rear wall of the palace with the 
prison, which stands on the opposite side of the narrow 
canal. The bridge is a covered structure, with two grated 
windows upon each side. A partition separated it into two 
divisions, one of which was appropriated to the passage of 
criminals and the other to the prisoners of State. Of 
course I peered through the iron bars at the outer 



A student's views abroad. 113 

world and repeated to myself Byron's well known lines : 

"I stood in Venice, on the Bridge of Sighs ; 

A palace and a prison on each hand : 

I saw from out the wave her structures rise 

As from the stroke of the enchanter's wand: 

A thousand years their cloudy winds expand 

Around me, and a dying glory smiles 

O'ei the far times, where many a subject land, 

Look'd at the winged lion's marble piles, 

Where Venice sate in state, throned on her hundred i 



The attendant led us then down into the dungeons where 
the prisoners were incarcerated. The narrow aperture in 
the wall does not deserve the name of a window and the 
light and air of heaven can scarcely penetrate into these 
dismal tombs for living men. The stones were dripping 
with water and even in my momentarv pause I shivered 
with cold. Here the unfortunate victims were left without 
so much as straw for bedding and many a wretched man 
has sat within these walls while the grim monsters of dis- 
ease were slowly destroying both mind and body. What 
tales of horror these dungeons could unfold, if they were 
endowed with the power of speech ! What shrieks of dis- 
pair would there be heard ; and what wild prayers 
and hysteric laughter ol^ren^ied brains! There could be no 
better commentary upon the thoughtful sentence of Burns 
that "Man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands 
mourn." 

Among the cells which we visited was one where Byron 
spent twenty-four hours in order to get a more vivid idea of 
the horrors of the place for the composition of his tragedies. 
An English lady, who was with my party, remarked that he 
chose one with a board lining, that was therefore not so 



114 A STUDENT S VIEWS ABROAD. 

damp. It looked cheerless enough, however, in spite of the 
trifling improvement over the others . 

The guide next pointed out the dungeon where Marino 
Faliero was confined and showed us the place of execution. 
We saw the little window at which the priest received the 
last confession of the cendemned, the aperture in the stones 
where the hght and crucifix stood, and finally the pins to 
which the ropes were fastened for strangulation, the trough 
for the blood of the beheaded, and the secret door by which 
the bodies were conveyed to the canal. Indeed there seems 
to be a great deal of truth in Inge^ sell's pointed saying that 
it has only been about fifty years that this world has been 
fit for a gentleman to live in. 

On the second evening of my stay in the city I had stood 
on a lofty tower, called the Campanile, in the square of St. 
Mark, and watched the sun sink beyond the plains of Lom- 
bardy and its crimson colors fade into darkness upon the 
spires of town and the broad surface of the misty sea. But 
the morrow was black and cloudy and the water seemed to 
pour instead of drop. I pulled on my great rubber coat and 
started for the grand piazza in company with an American 
student in similar attire. Before the church and palace 
were moody looking groops of travelers, trying to get a 
glimpse of the wonderful architecture in spite of the rain. 
The respectable Venetians looked from the snug cafes in 
pitying contempt at the crazy " Inglesi, " who ventured out 
in such weather. But the street boys hooted and took a 
fiendish delight in perplexing the tourists. Occasionally a 
crowd would rush out from shelter to demand a soldo of the 
dripping sight-seers, and then dash screaming back when it 



115 

was refused. It would be difficult to find a more discour- 
aging prospect and I concluded to retreat. So taking a fare- 
well look at the old square I tumbled my effects into a boat 
and was soon among the prosy scenes of the railroad station. 
After a cheerless ride across the Venetian plain we reached 
Padua where I rested for the night. The April storm con- 
tmued however to pursue me and I fled the next morning 
toward the south. I looked across the fields in the direction 
of the village of Arqua where " repose the bones of Laura's 
lover. " We crossed the rapid Adigo and the broad Po and 
stopped at the station at Ferrara. 

The storm ceased for a time and I was enabled to visit 
the few places in the city that have been made sacred by 
past associations. Motives of economy as well as the dic- 
tates of choice lead me in my excursions to depend mainty 
upon my natural means of locomotion, and I have a partic- 
ularly warm ill-will against the builders of Italian railways. 
They have the faintest possible sense of the eternal fitness 
of things when they choose a place for their stations. If 
they locate the station within a mile of the outskirts of a 
city, they think they have fully discharged their duty to- 
ward mankind. 

It may be said, however, in palliation of their offense, that 
the present mediaeval customs of the towns compel them to 
keep without the walls . Every large city in Italy has pre- 
served her ancient ramparts, not indeed as a means of de- 
fense, but as a portion of her custom house machinery. A 
duty is levied on all comestibles which enter the corporate 
limits and the net-work of guards around the towns is as in- 
tricate and clumsy as that on the frontiers of a country with 
a protectionist regime. 



II6 

I had a little adventure with the officers before I learned 
of the system. When walking from the station into the city 
of Verona, a villainous looking fellow in an indifferent uni- 
form accosted me, I supposed that he was one of those 
impudent porters whom I meet everywhere, and attempted 
to pass on my way. He prevented it though, and I at 
length found that he wanted to inspect my baggage. From 
my silence and my efforts to get rid of him, he concluded 
that I had something contraband and I was accordingly com- 
pelled to open my luggage. A respectable looking knap- 
sack was familiar enough to the eyes of the officers on the 
frontiers of Tyrol to let me go through without question 
and it seemed rather humiliating to be compelled to submit 
to inspection in order to enter an Italian town. But I con- 
soled myself, as I always do, with the thought that I was 
getting experience at least. In ordinary cases a simple dec- 
laration by the traveler that he has no comestibles is suffi- 
cient to pass his baggage without examination. 

As soon as the visitor enters Ferrara he preceives that its 
glory has departed . The long streets are deserted and the 
unbroken rows of houses seem as lifeless as a continuous 
wall. Here and there a petty vendor of eatables has estab- 
lished his stall in abroad doorway that once was the avenue 
of commerce in keeping with its proportions. The aspect 
of the city and the contrast with its former condition re- 
minds one of those worn out ships that are dragged upon 
the beach and used for fishermen's huts. From a popula- 
tion of a hundred thousand Ferrara has now shrunk to 
twenty-eight thousand. 

As the nearest place of interest I turned my steps to- 



117 

ward the house which the great poet Ariosto built for him- 
belf, when he was living in the favor of the brilliant court 
of Alphonso the Second. It stands in the Via dell' Ariosto 
which is at present so quiet that I could scarcely find a per- 
son of whom to inquire my way. It is a plain, two storied 
building without anything remarkable either in size or style. 
The inscription on the house is said by the learned author 
of the " Curiosities of Literature " to have been written in 
answer to some friendly taunts at the smallness of the struc- 
ture. It is little, said the poet, but suitable for me and of- 
fensive to no one. The house was bought by the town in 
1811 and a statue has been erected to him in the Piazza 
Ariosto. Indeed it must be allowed that the Italian cities 
have universally exhibited a laudable care for the places 
made sacred by the masters, which has by no means been 
fully imitated by those northern lands which affect to look 
dovs^n on the degenerate sons of the south. 

Upon ringing the bell I was admitted by a motherly faced 
old lady into an ample hall. She then conducted me by a 
stairway to the right into the upper rooms. One of these 
was used by the poet for a study and the table is still show^n 
upon which he was accustomed to write. The apartments 
below were used for dining room and kitchen, and all are 
paved with tile as is usual in Italy. After inscribing my 
name in the visitor's book, the custodian lead the way to the 
garden in the rear of the house. Its size is scarcely larger 
than the building itself but it was filled even in those early 
days of April with sweetly smelling flowers, which looked 
all the brighter for the recent rain . At my request the kind- 
hearted old lady made me a beautiful bouquet for a souv- 
enir of the place. 



ii8 A student's views abroad. 

I then turned to the center of the city and passed the 
queer looking diamond palace, which receives its name from 
the curious appearance of its outer wall, in which all the 
stones are hewn to a point and thus present a regular series 
of jutting ends. Not long afterwards I saw the lofty towers 
of the ancient palace of the house of Este and soon paused 
in the square to contemplate the interesting structure. It is 
a vast building of brick, surrounded by a moat which is 
crossed by several of the old fashioned draw-bridges. It 
has four towers at the corners and a broad court within the 
walls. Altogether it is one of the best preserved examples 
of a mediseval castle that are extant . It bears no signs of 
deca}'^ and despite the fact that it is used for town offices and 
the telegraph bureau, it exhibits no visible indication of the 
influence of modern hands. It stands there grand in its sim- 
ple massiveness and sternly keeps its bridges and moat like 
a hoary veteran clinging to bygone styles. 

Under one of the towers the dungeon is pointed out where 
the last act of that dreadful tragedy was played which By- 
ron has given to the EngHsh public in his poem of " Pari- 
sina. " The fact is horrible enough in itself and we are glad 
to dismiss it from our minds, but such subjects had a strange 
fascination for the moody nature of the passionate Byron . 
Carlyle beautifully defines poetry as the effort of man to be 
at harmony with his existence, when he rises above his own 
selfish aims and feelings and looks on life from that lofty 
standpoint, where evil dissolves into universal good . But 
Byron seemed to have none of this ecstasy. He searched 
the chronicles of the darker times for the unjust victims of 
inexorable law and tuned his harp to accord with groans 
from rocks and shrieks from dungeon vaults. 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD. II9 

Proceeding farther in my walk, I visited the cathedral, 
crossed the square and reached the university. Pressing 
through the crowd of students who stared at me as critic- 
ally as they do over the sea, I was conducted by the porter 
to the library, which contains some precious relics. Among 
these are manuscripts by Tasso and Ariosto of their respec- 
tive masterpieces. I saw one of the finger bones of the 
last named poet, which is preserved in a glass case, but it 
seems a sacrilege to thus make a show of the remains of an 
honored man, in order to gratify a vulgar curiosity. It were 
far better, I think, to let them moulder undisturbed within 
the sheltering veil of the tomb. Let Shakespeare's curse 
be extended to all and let no inquisitive hands presume to 
rudety handle the bones of the great. Ariosto's tomb was 
moved to the library from the church of St. Benedetto in 
1 801. His chair is also preserved at the same place. 

I finally visited the hospital of St. Anna, in the basement 
of which is the dungeon where Tasso was confined for seven 
years by his former patron, Alphonso the Second. The 
proverb seems true that the vinegar of wine is sourest and 
the hatred that is begotten of love is the bitterest . The 
prison is small, and damp, and dark, such as would now be 
thought unfit for the vilest malefactor. The prophesy in 
Byron's grand " Lament of Tasso " seems to be literally ful- 
filled and the poet's cell is a place of pilgrimage. The walls 
are covered with names and Byron is among the rest. Al- 
though we may despise the practice, we of course must 
acknowledge that the presence of these inscriptions is indic- 
ative of great interest in the place. It is a melancholy 



I20 A STUDENT S VIEWS ABROAD. 

duty which Ferrara now has to show the dungeon where 
her lord once confined the poet. 

"And Tasso is their glory and their shame. 

Hark to his strain; and then survey his cell ; 

And see how dearly earn'd Torquato's fame, 

And where Alfonso bade his poet dwell: 

The miserable despot could not quell 

The insulted mind he sought to quench, and blend 

With the surrounding maniacs, in the hell 

Where he had plunged it. Glory without end 

Scattered the clouds away — and on that name attend 

The tears and praises of all time. =•= * =•= 

Peace to Torquato's injured shade ! T' was his 

In life and death to be the mark where wrong 

Aim'd with her poison'd arrows, but to miss. 

Oh, victor unsurpass'd in modern song ! 

Each year brings forth its millions ; but how long 

The tide of generations shall roll on. 

And not the whole combined and countless throng 

Compose a mind like thine? Though all in one 

Condensed their scatter'd rays, they would not form a sun." 

From Ferrara I went to Bologna, one of the oldest and 
most famous cities on the Adriatic coast, known principally 
in America on account of the sausage which is named after 
the town. Bologna university was founded in 1119 and is 
one of the oldest in the world. At one time it numbered 
10,000 students. It has now only 400. Bologna took a 
prominent part in the wars of the Guelphs and Ghibeilines 
and was one of the allies of the Pope against Emperor 
Frederick II., whose son Enzio was taken prisoner by the 
city and held a captive for twenty-two years until his death. 
King Enzio was a gifted poet and his love for Lucia Ven- 
dagoli throws a romantic halo over his captivity. The great 
church of San Petronio was the scene of the coronation of 
Emperor Charles V., Feburary 24th, 1530. Among the 
tombs it contains is that of Princess Elisa Bacciocchi, sister 
of Napoleon. 



I2t 

Bologna has two leaning towers but neither of them com- 
pare in beauty with the one at Pisa. One tower is 272 feet 
high and three feet and five inches out of the perdendicular. 
The other is 138 feet high and eight feet and a half out of 
the perpendicular. 

From Bologna I went to Ravenna and spent the day . 
Ravenna was the principal harbor of the Roman empire but 
the sediment brought down by the rivers filled up the port 
and now even the sea is quite a distance from the city. Ra- 
venna was the residence of several Roman emperors and 
Gothic Kings. Ravenna was preferred by Byron to all 
other Italian cities. It is indeed a most interesting place and 
contains many magnificent churches. The church of San 
Vitale was built during the reign of Justinian in imitation of 
St. Sophia at Constantinople. Near it is the church of San 
Nazario e Celso, which was founded A. D. 440 and con- 
tains the tombs of Emperors Honorius and Constantius III. 
and Empress Galla Placida. These are the only monuments 
of ancient Roman emperors which remain undisturbed. The 
mosaics on the walls and the curious tombs make this the 
most interesting church in Ravenna. 

Dante's tomb has an interest which can not be rivaled. It 
is in a beautiful marble mausoleum, embellished with me- 
dallions of Virgil and Dante's patrons and friends. The vis- 
itor looks through the iron gates at the marble urn which 
contains the poet's ashes. 

"Ungrateful Florence ! Dante sleeps afar, 
Like Scipio, buried by the upbraiding shore ; 
Thy factions, in their worse than civil war, 
Proscribed the bard whose name for ever more 
Their children's children would in vain adore 
With the remorse of ages ; ='•' - 
Happier Ravenna ! on thy hoary shore, 
Fortress of falling empire ! Honor' d sleeps 
The immortal exile." 



122 

On my way from Ravenna to Naples, I passed Faenza, 
noted for its pottery (faience) ; Forli and Cesena, both an- 
cient towns; and the river Rubicon famous for its passage by 
Cagsar . I spent some time at Rimin i made famous by the 
Malatesta family whose fate is sung by Dante and Byron. 

Not far from Rimini is the little republic of San Marino, 
the smallest in the world, perched on the mountain top. It 
was founded in the reign of Diocletian and has retained its 
independence through all the changes which have taken 
place around it. 

I stopped a day at the beautiful seaport city of Ancona 
and paid a visit to the son of a German friend. The view 
of the mountains and the sea is charming. Later in the 
day I went to Loreto, situated on a hill and commanding 
grand views. The little town attracts half a million of pil- 
grims annually. In a handsome church is preserved the 
house of the Virgin Mary which was transported by angels 
to this spot from Nazareth in 1294. The house is encased 
in a marble screen adorned with sculptures of great merit. 
The house contains an image of the Virgin and Child 
executed by St. Luke the apostle. 

After seeing Loreto I went direct by rail to Naples. 
The route is down the Adriatic coast and then over the 
Apennines. 



CHAPTER VII. 

NAPLES. THE FILTHIEST CITY IN THE WORLD^^THE CHARM- 
ING BAY OF NAPLES. ASCENT OF MT. VESUVIUS. 

POMPEII. 



Naples, April 27, 1880. 

This is the largest town in Italy, and I think, the dirtiest 
one in the world. All the filth of the cities of the eastern 
coast of Italy could not prevent me from being startled at 
the aspect of Naples. I am homesick for a breath of the 
clear, fresh air of Ohio, and a sight of the beautiful fields 
and smiling brooks that have not been polluted by the slime 
of these wretched people. Two weeks' residence amidst 
this filth has not sufficed to accustom me to its appearance 
nor reconcile me to the thought of the possibility of a civ- 
ilized man living here without retrograding a little into bar- 
barism. We think on general principles that the contem- 
plation of beauty is suited to cultivate a refined taste and 
brighten every faculty of the mind. But it would be dif- 
ficult to find a more impressive spot on earth than the Gulf 
of Naples, and, alas! It would be equally difficult to find a 
city where one encounters sights and sounds more jarring 
to the sensibility than those of Naples, 

Over half a million of people live in these narrow streets, 
and will no doubt continue to dwell here the rest of their 
days ; but all the beauty of the bay, the tropical luxuriance 



124 

of vegetation, and the cooling sea breezes that fan the cityy 
would be powerless to tempt me to erect my tent poles io 
this region. I would certainly languish away at the sight 
of so much filth and wretchedness ; and if I did not, I 
would curse myself for lacking sufficient fine feeling to do 
such a proper act. 

The streets of the town are about wide enough, as a rule, 
for two vehicles to pass, but are innocent of any particular 
place for pedestrians. Men are expected to take their 
chances among the donkeys and horses, and it seems won- 
derful that so few are run over. The drivers keep their 
animals at a rapid trot and continue shouting and cracking 
their whips in order to w^arn the foot passengers, who avoid 
the vehicles as easily as if it was an instinct. The horses 
of Naples are very small, and it requires considerable prac- 
tice for a stranger to learn to distinguish one in a crowd of 
people at night. 

The sights and sounds of these narrow streets beggar 
description. Hawkers of all kinds of wares throng them 
constantly, and make one's ears ring with their discordant 
shouts. They keep this up all day long, and whenever I 
wake up at night I hear the same noise, and I suppose, 
therefore, it is a perpetual plague. Donkeys with immense 
loads on their backs are continually passing through the 
streets, and they have a very provoking disposition to bray 
in tones more fitting for the last agonies of dissolution than 
for the ordinary routine of every day life. At evening hund- 
reds of goats are driven into the town, and their cries and 
the noise of their bells contribute another element to the 
general babel. What is lacking to complete the confu- 



125 

sion is abundantly supplied by the children, who can scream 
louder, longer and more dismally than any others on the 
globe. 

The houses which line these noisy streets and alleys are 
in entire accord with their surroundings. They tower up 
to the seventh and eighth story, and before each window is a 
balcony, which does service as a back yard. On this little 
hanging shelf they keep household utensils, flowers, chick- 
ens, and what not? Clothes lines cross the street in 
every direction holding articles of toilet continually, al- 
though no one ever sees the inmates with anything on that 
could possibly have been lately in the wash. 

Provisions are drawn up to these lofty dwellings in baskets, 
and so the narrow alleys do not seem unlike a mine. 
Housewives stand on these balconies and gossip with their 
neighbors in tones that would be more suitable for the of* 
ficers of two ships hailing each other during a storm. They 
scream at their children in the streets till it makes your hair 
stand on end. As for chasing vermin in youthful heads the 
mothers seem to have a mania for it, and the pedestrian can 
see them engaged in that entertaining sport on nearly everv 
door step. The people have a regular Spartan indifference 
for the public in making their toilet, and are only rivaled 
by the Dutch in the infringement of our notions of modesty. 

Pauperism has reached a terrible extent in Naples. 
Nearly every step one is accosted by some one, man, woman 
or child, and asked in most cringing tones for a donation. 
It would be impossible to meet the half of these petitions 
with even the smallest sum, as their number is legion. I 
would not willingly live within sight of so much real and 



120 A student's views ABROAD. 

feigned misery. It is very hard on the feelings of a sensi- 
tive person to be compelled to turn paupers away every 
minute, and a few cases of deception make one suspicious 
of the whole tribe. For instance, when one is followed by 
a wretch who cries, "signore," in the most whining, piteous 
tones imaginable, and just as you have concluded to give him 
something he has abandoned the chase and leaves you with 
some insulting words ; and then a revulsion of feeling comes 
over you and you think it were well that the whole race 
should be exterminated. 

1 try not to be too severe towards Italy, but I think she 
has a greater and more urgent need than meddling with 
the boundary lines of Austria. I think there is something 
more necessary to her future importance in European pol- 
itics than the maintaining of a bloated army and navy. I 
think the regulation of her lower classes would be the sur- 
est step toward a prosperity that is solid and enduring. This 
stagnant scum must be cleared from the surface and then 
the pure springs can pour up from the fountain. How the 
evil should be encountered is a subject for wiser heads to de- 
termine. But let the grim monster be attacked that is 
sucking the life blood of the nation. There is no prosper- 
ity for society except in the healthy condition of all its 
members ; and for my part I think the proper way to rem- 
edy the disease that is blighting the vitals of Italy is to 
transport the paupers to the country and let the process of 
regeneration be exercised in nature's own manner. Like 
the fabled monster, a man receives new life when he touches 
ground, when he returns to the simple rules of nature . 

The habits of the Neapolitans have produced a general 



A student's views abroad. 127 

physiognomy peculiar to themselves. The matted, unkempt 
hair, the black eyes, the celestial nose, the irregularly cut 
mouth; who that has seen the picture can forget it? You 
cannot find its counterpart in Venice, or Bologna, or any- 
where else ; it is a face that belongs only to the noisy, nar- 
row, filthy streets of this metropolis. 

The people have also a language of signs, which they 
use constantly. The gestures which they make seem ar- 
bitrary, but I am told that each one has a peculiar meaning. 
In the Northern States we know almost nothing of the sig- 
nificance of signs. But in the first European cit}^ we enter 
our introduction begins. In Rotterdam I learned that a 
shrug of the shoulders means I do not understand. From 
that time I found the meaning of some others, but the Ger- 
mans use few in comparison with the Italians. It seems to 
afford them relief in expressing their thoughts, and they use 
them as a sort of emphasis. 

As for the sights of Naples itself, there is not much to be 
said. There are very few buildings that have any interest 
either for the architect or the historical student. The great- 
est and almost sole wonder of the town is the museum, which 
contains the antiquities found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. 
This is one of the most interesting in the world, and no doubt 
affords the best opportunit}^ one will ever have to study all 
the details of Roman life . The managers have shown a 
faithfulness in prosecuting their work that is commendable. 
The reverence for each fragment of the ruins is all that the 
most critical enthusiast could demand. Though nothing of 
a specialist in this department, I thoroughly enjoyed the 
rainy day I spent within the walls of the museum. 



128 A student's views abroad. 

I visited the catacombs in the northern part of the city^ 
but failed to appreciate them. I expected something dark 
and awful, but saw merely some holes cut in the rock, which 
were once covered with frescoes and mosaics but which 
look dingy enough now. I climbed all through the caves,,, 
peered into all the dark holes, and tried to look pleased at 
the places where the guides expected it, but it was all a fail- 
ure. I resign to others the satisfaction of going into ec- 
stasies over the catacombs of Naples. I thought they had 
neither beauty nor grandeur, nothing to delight or terrify 
me. 

The only historical spot that I have been able to find is 
the Largo del Mercato, the square where King Conradin, 
the last of the Hohenstaufens, was beheaded when only six- 
teen years of age, by the usurper, Charles of Anjou. As I 
had recently been on the spot where the castle of that great 
house once had stood, I felt great interest in the place which 
had witnessed the tragic end of the last of the royal line which 
had produced a Barbarossa and a Frederick the Second. 
The square is now used for a market, and nothing but the 
memory of the past could attract the stranger to the spot. 
In the adjoining Church of Santa Maria del Carmine I vis- 
ited the tomb of the ill-fated King. Over his ashes is a 
marble statue which was erected in 1847 by Maximilian 
the Second, of Bavaria. I like to stand at these places 
which we honor for their history, and muse over the days 
that are past, but I can not think,at least can not think pleas- 
ant thoughts, when a troop of beggars are whining their 
grievances in my ears. There is no land where one longs 
more than in Italy for a quiet hour among the ruins of the 



129 

glory that is gone. But we long in vain . Beggars haunt 
every place. They drag their filth after you into churches ; 
they lie in wait for you at the street corners. No square 
is so broad, no alley so narrow, but that you meet them 
driving their trade. I honor the master minds who have 
lived m this land, but 1 shall feel better when I am back 
among the Germans, where the people are generally hon- 
est and wash themselves sometimes. 

I have been two weeks in this famous city, and have gone 
every day down by the seaside to look at the smoking peak 
of the Vesuvius. The most of the time the clouds hung 
over the landscape and made an excursion to the summit im- 
possible, but finally the day came when everything was ar- 
ranged and I was ready for the ascent. So I arose earlier 
than usual and hastening down to the harbor, was glad to 
find that the weather was clear enough for the attempt. The 
smoke of the volcano was curling lazily upward, and the 
view was only dimmed by a slight haziness of the atmos- 
phere that would be thought but a trifle at any other place 
than the Bay of Naples. 

Filling a little satchel with refreshments, and taking my 
large cane, I felt fully equipped for the undertaking and went 
by rail to Portici, the first station upon the road that runs 
along the side of the gulf. Declining the assistance of some 
four or five hackmen and guides of various degrees of un- 
cleanliness, I walked in a few minutes to Resina, which is 
built on the lava stream that covers Herculaneum. Here 
four guides fastened themselves to me in spite of my pro- 
testations to the contrary. I disregarded all their directions, 
and procured the necessar^^ information as to the road from 



I30 

some tolerably clean looking citizens who could not have 
much interest in deceiving me. It has been my practice all 
over Italy to ask the better class of merchants for any ex- 
planations I may need, for I find that as trade overcame the 
despotism of the knights, so it now is the best teacher that 
honesty is the best policy. I did not, however, succeed in 
ridding myself of my escort, for three of them pursued me 
constantly as far as the observatory. Whenever I stopped 
to rest upon a stone by the wayside they suddenly felt that 
they were also weary and halted too. They became rested 
in the same time that I did, and the moment I began to con- 
tinue the ascent they followed as closely as my shadow. 

For the lower part of the distance up the mountain there 
are two roads — a smooth, new one for carriages, and a 
rough, old one for pedestrains and peasants. The latter was 
of course the one which I chose. It became worse and 
worse as I ascended, and with such a villainous crowd 
around me I might be excused for feeling a little uncomfort- 
able. This was but a momentary thought, however. I 
went constantly on, determined to go through with the part 
I hadcommeced. Some distance up the path I met a young 
stranger who was coming down the road with that confus- 
ed precipitation which is peculiar to an excited German. He 
stopped when he reached me, and I found that I had guess- 
ed his nationality correctly. His agitation prevented him 
from giving a coherent account of himself, but I gathered 
from what he said that he suspected he had been deceived 
as to the way and was going back. Pretty soon a treach- 
erous looking guide came rushing down the hill, and follow- 
ing him was a fat German. They both were disposed tore- 



131 

turn, and I went on. But they soon overtook me, having 
been induced by my nationality to think that 1 would get 
through all right. I found then that my stout companion 
was a citizen of Brookl3'n and his friend was a native of 
Bohemia. They had but a faint idea of the way to ascend 
the Vesuvius, and had hired that brigand, who was more in- 
terested in extorting money from them than in safely piloting 
them to the crater. For the rest of the day we remained 
together, and though our conversation was principally in 
German, it was pleasant to be with even an adopted son of 
the American Eagle. 

Soon after this incident we reached the lava stream of 
1872. There are acres and acres of this black colored 
mass, which stretches from the cone far down into the 
plain. From a distance it resembles the dark soil of an 
American valley after it has been plowed into deep and ir- 
regular furrows by a spring flood. But a nearer view re- 
veals the most intricate and fantastic convolutions imagin- 
able. All the forms which molten liquids assume under 
powerful influence of gases are here preserved in a solid 
mass. It is like a great monster that has been writhing and 
plunging in pain, and has then been suddenly transfixed, leav- 
ing every fold indicative of the great struggle. Indeed a 
lava stream is the Laocoon of Nature, sculpturing the ter- 
rific lineaments of her countenance when wrought up by the 
fiercest forces that slumber in her bosom. 

After passing the old hermitage and crossing the lava 
field, we reached the observatory, which was built in i 844 
expressly for the observation of the phenomena presented 
by the Vesuvius. It is 2,216 feet above the sea, and stands 



132 

upon a slight ridge of ground between two streams of lava. 
This long and narrow space contains the nearest vegetation 
to the crater. At this point my companions' villainous guide 
demanded his fee, and notwithstanding my protestations, 
the}^ concluded to pay him, preferring his absence to his com- 
pany. We now left the road and took a rugged foot-path 
across the lava field to the cone, only stopping occasionally 
to look at the complicated shapes assumed by the lava, 
which were as intricate as the folds of a woman's back hair, 
and in appearance very similar, though on a mammoth scale. 
The fifty-eight recorded eruptions of the Vesuvius each 
caused a change in the height and aspect of the volcano. 
In the time of Augustus the surface of the mountain was 
fiat and sterile. Now the appearance from Naples is that 
of two twin peaks, from the higher one of which the smoke 
pours. This is the Vesuvius proper and the adjoining sum- 
mit is Mount Somma, the two being separated by a deep 
valley called the Atrio del Cavallo. In the center of a vast 
field of lava rises the cone of the volcano, which has the 
appearance of an immense sand hill seven or eight hundred 
feet in height. The sides have an inclination of about forty-five 
degrees, and present a pretty formidable task to the climber. 
Upon one slope a path has been constructed which facilitates 
the ascent somewhat, while upon another there is a straight 
road which is used in descending. Of course we had the 
misfortune to stumble upon the latter, and bitterly did we 
rue it. Many of my readers have climbed sand hills in 
their juvenile days, and can perhaps form at least a faint 
idea of the seriousness of undertaking an ascent of many 
hundred feet under such difficulties. At every step our 



133 

shoes disappeared in the sand, and the fatigue was so great 
that we found it necessary to rest every twenty or thirty feet. 
The fiery Bohemian went up the slope pretty rapidly, leav- 
ing me with the fat German to struggle slowly along. Soon 
some other travelers came plunging down the path and told 
us we had missed the road, which did not tend to make the 
toil of ascent seem any pleasanter. 

" Oh!" groaned the German, "Oh, for a drink of water!" 

"Well," said I disconsolately, "it will have to be a fine 
show if it pays for this. " 

"Yes, yes," moaned the German, and then we flounder- 
ed along a few steps farther . Finally, after spending two 
hours and a half in this miserable ascent, we reached the 
top, my fat friend having chartered a bronzed bandit to tow 
him for the last part of the distance. 

On the other side of the cone we could see other tourists 
climbing up the path, and it did not seem so much easier 
than the precipice which we had so unfortunately chosen , 
The usual way for those who need assistance is for them to 
take hold of a strap and be pulled by one of the natives. 
Very feeble persons can be carried up in chairs by four stout 
men, but I would hesitate to trust my life to such a machine. 
A single misstep of one of the bearers would send the pas- 
senger rolling down the slope, and it would be a matter of 
little consequence where he would stop. Taken all together, 
the ascent of the volcano is a severe task, and only the 
grandeur of the scene at the summit can repay one for the 
exertion. 

But all this toil and trouble will soon exist only in the 
note-books of past travelers, and within a few weeks the 



1 34 ^ student's views abroad. 

tourists will ascend the Vesuvius as easily as he can cross 
the Gotthard, where the tunnel is finished. A splendid car- 
riage road has been built to the cone of the volcano, and 
from this point the traveler will be transported to the sum- 
mit by an inclined plane railway, as quickly and as easily as 
at Price's Hill or Mt. Auburn, at Cincinnati. The track is 
already laid, the buildings are erected, and its completion 
is only a matter of a few weeks' labor. The engine is to 
stand at the foot of the cone, and the car will be carried up 
by a double set of wire cables, which work on two large 
wheels at the summit. A number of lava walls have been 
built at the top to protect the railway, but of course the first 
eruption will easily overcome these trifling obstructions and 
destroy in a few minutes the work of months. But notwith- 
standing this, the enterprise will no doubt pay, and the ascent 
of the Vesuvius will be robbed of all its romance. 

The scene which awaits the traveler at the summit of the 
cone is one of surpassing grandeur. Before him lies a 
rough sea of cold lava that is circular in shape and rent in 
every direction by great fissures, whose sides are encrusted 
with sulphur and present all the varied hues of the rainbow. 
From these chasms pour smoke and deadly gases unceasing- 
ly. In the center of this sulphurous field rises another cone 
about thirty feet in height, which is at present the active 
crater. The smoke rises in a continuous stream, and every 
few minutes it makes great spurts that are accompanied by 
showers of red hot ashes and a loud sound like that when 
water is thrown on fire. At these times, too, the reflection 
of the molten mass within is visible on the smoke, and forms 
that appearance of flames that is seen from Naples. A num- 



135 

ber of tourists climbed to the top of this inner cone to look 
at the crater itself. We tried it, too, but when we were 
half way up, the wind veered and drove dense clouds of sul- 
phurous gas and smoke upon us, and this, with a shower of 
ashes from the crater, made us glad to retreat. The guides 
said nothing could be seen by those who did not ascend the 
crater, but those who made the experiment said they saw 
merely a large round hole from which the smoke was pour- 
ing . The fumes of the sulphur were so overpowering that 
I had no desire to repeat the attempt. 

A stout, gray-bearded Englishman, who had successfully 
accomplished the feat, was quietly knocking the ashes from 
his shoes, as I passed him. There are moments of enthus- 
iasm which overcome even the proverbial stiffness of that 
nation and the old gentleman could not resist the temptation 
to ask me if I spoke English. I answered that I was an 
American, whereupon he suggested that I might be like the 
darkey who said, "if you bring the old Vesuvius over to our 
country the Niagara will mighty soon put out his pipe for 
him." 

The view of the country from the summit of the volcano 
is such as one obtains but few times in his life. We were 
between four and five thousand feet above the sea and the 
most magnificent bay in the world lay before us, viewed as 
from a balloon. The blue waters glistened in the sun and 
innumerable small boats danced about on the waves. Far 
in front of us was Capri, the scene of Tiberius' revels after 
he retired from Rome. Then nearer, we could see the 
white houses of Sorrento, where Tasso was born. Closer 
to us yet, was Castellamare, where the elder Pliny perished, 



136 A student's views abroad. 

and to the left of this the dark columns and ruined walls of 
Pompeii formed a marked contrast with the village around 
it. Then we could seethe continuous line of houses which 
borders the bay until far beyond Naples toward the north. 
And down the sides of the mountain the dark streams of 
lava extend among the fertile fields whose owners live 
on in forgetfulness of the demon that breathes fire and 
smoke from the Vesuvius. Over the summit by Virgil's 
tomb, we could see the Bay of Puzzuoli where St . Paul 
landed on his way to Rome. Beyond this, the Cape of Mis- 
eno and the islands of Ischia and Procida were visible — all 
scenes of the crimes and exploits that darken and illumine 
the history of the ancient nobles. Think of such a view, 
where these great memories are combined with the loveliest 
aspect that nature wears. Who could forget the day that 
revealed such a sight? 

But even the best friends must part, the brightest visions 
must fade and at four o'clock we were compelled to bid adieu 
to the smoking crater and start downwards towards the land- 
scape we had just been admiring. The descent of the cone 
was a matter of a few minutes, as those who have climbed 
around in gravel banks when boys, can easily imagine. Tak- 
ing immense strides our feet would sink deep into the ashes 
and the absence of anything hard to jar us made the novel 
descent rather pleasant. 

By the time we reached the vineyards it was growing 
dark and we had a view of a beautiful sunset beyond the 
hills of Naples. The hush of eventide came over nature 
and all the beggars in Resina could not prevent us from en- 
joying the return to the city. 



A student's views ABllOAD. 137 

The visit to the ruins of Pompeii is a companion trip to 
the ascent of Mt. Vesuvius. I made two visits to the an- 
cient city, one during the week when an admittance fee is 
charged, and I was conducted about by a guide, and again 
on Gunday when admission was free and I was left to wan- 
der about as I pleased . 

Prepciratory to the trip I studied the contents of the Na- 
ples museum, which contains the articles found at Pompeii, 
and also read Bulwer's Last Days of Pompeii. The train 
runs in a little less than an hour from Naples to Pompeii, 
and stops near the ruins which lie on a slight elevation. The 
walls are preserved as high as the top of the first story. 
The pavements of the streets are perfect and show the deep- 
ly worn ruts caused by thousands of passing wheels, I 
wandered around among the temples, shops, dwellings, 
baths, villas and tombs. It was like being transported back 
two thousand years and visiting a city recently destroyed by- 
fire. The street of the tombs is the most impressive part 
of Pompeii and its aspect is nearly the same as before 
the eruption which destroyed the town. 

The discovery of the ruins of Pompeii in the last cen- 
tury was like a revelation of the past. Every kind of uten- 
sil used by the Romans was found. The artisan was sur- 
prised at his work, the theater was covered with ashes 
when crowded with spectators, the prisoner was engulfed in 
his prison. After seventeen centuries all was uncovered 
and the modern world was afforded opportunity of stud^dng 
the habits and civilization of the ancient Romans . 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FROM NAPLES TO ROME . FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE ETER- 
NAL CITY. THE FORUM. COLISEUM AND ST. PETER's. 

THE RUINS IN AND ABOUT ROME. EXCURSIONS IN 

THE VICINITY. 



Rome, May 20, 1880. 

I wasted no time in lamenting my departure from Na- 
ples. The constant recurrence of scenes of wretchedness 
and filth made me heartily glad to escape. The unique 
shades of life that can be found there afford abundant ma- 
terial for the artist and amuse the casual observer for a 
time, but for a longer stay the place is almost unendurable, 
when I was once in the cars I did not even care to look 
back at the city but turned my eyes toward the Vesuvius 
until its summit was hid from sight. 

The journey to Rome was entertaining but presented few 
objects of extraordinary interest. At Caserta I had a 
glimpse of the old royal palace of the Bourbons. The 
country in this neighborhood is remarkable for its fertility 
and the vegetation is of tropicaipuxuriance. It was the an- 
cient Campania and is now called the Terra di Lavoro. On 
the borders of this plain we passed the famous city of 
Capua where Hannibal's army succumbed to the allure- 
ments of an effeminate life. The view from the train con- 



139 

stantly embraced the sight of the mountains and in some 
places we even saw peaks covered with snow. About the 
middle of the forenoon we passed the foot of Mount 
Casino, upon which a monaster}^ is situated that was found- 
ed by St. Benedict, and which has ever been known for the 
learning and liberality of its monks. I wished much for 
time to stop and obtain a glimpse of such a life under its 
best form, but it could not be. 

At midday we came within sight of the Alban mountains, 
and then crossed the ancient Appian Way and entered the 
Campania. The innumerable ruins on every side and the 
long hne of the arches of the Marcian Acqueduct were 
the first hints of the majesty of the ancient city. Soon we 
entered the Aurelian wall, which is a monument of the 
greatness as well as the weakness of the old empire. In a 
few minutes we stopped at the station. After leaving my 
baggage, and without waiting even to look at the ruins of 
the baths of Diocletian, I hastened by the shortest side 
streets toward the forum. The houses near the station are 
as new and fresh looking as those of an American city. 
Everything betokens that wealth has not departed from its 
ancient seat. The contrast between Naples and Rome is 
wonderful, and the traveler is fully prepared to appreciate 
the Eternal City. 

Descending the slope of Mount Viminal, I passed the 
ancient arch and the three beautiful Corinthian columns 
which are all that remain of the forum of Augustus, and 
then reached a railing surrounding an extensive excavation 
that was covered with ruins. This is the Roman Forum — 
one of the most famous spots on earth. This was the center 



140 

of the life of that great city which led the world captive at 
her feet. Immediately before me lay the Sacra Via, along 
which kings have passed in chains, serving as a mere item 
in the long triumphal trains which bore countless treasures 
of everything that could excite avarice or lust. To my 
right was the arch of Septimus Severus, whose reliefs cele- 
brate victories in the Parthian wars. Beyond this I could 
see the temples of Saturn, of Concord and Vespasian, each 
of which marks an epoch in the history of Rome. Above 
the scattered columns which are all that remain of these 
once grand structures, rises the hill of the Capitol, which 
bore the citadel of the ancient city. In front of me and to 
the left lay the broken stones which indicate the sites of the 
Basilica of Julia and the Temple of Castor and Pollux. Be- 
yond this I saw the massive arches of the palaces of the 
Caesars, on the Palatine hill, where Romulus first built his 
city. Within this small space before my eyes moved the 
great spirits of that ancient world. Here the sturdy Roman 
saved his daughter from the worst of the "wicked ten." 
Here Catiline laid his fell schemes. Here Cicero uttered 
his great speeches. Here Csesar, and the long line of Em- 
perors held their sway. Who could be too enthusiastic over 
such a scene? Who could fully realize the grand history 
that is attached to this place? 

But I could not pause long here. I hastened on past the 
temple which the good Marcus Aurelius built, glanced at 
the Basilica of Constantine, and walked through the Arch of 
Titus which commemorates the fall of the Jewish nation. 
There I stood before the Coliseum, the grandest ruin in the 
world . Byron has taught us to expect much but no one is 



A student's views abroad. 141 

disappointed. The towering walls have resisted the , pow- 
ers of both nature and man and remain the most impressive 
monument of ancient Rome. 

From the Coliseum 1 turned again toward the Capitol 
after taking a hasty look at the stolen beauties of Constan- 
tine's arch. Ascending the roadway to the summit of the 
hill, I crossed the terrace upon which stands the equestrian 
statue of the Philosopher-Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and 
then descended the great staircase into the modern city. 

There were still two other places which I wished to visit 
before evening and I went therefore directly onward until I 
reached the first of these — the Pantheon. This temple of 
Agrippa is the only structure of ancient Rome that has 
been preserved entire and every one must grant that it is 
worthy of the majesty of the Empire. The circular open- 
ing in the roof is the sole means of lighting the interior, yet 
nothing could be better illuminated. Crossing to the chief 
altar opposite the entrance, I stood before the tomb of Italy's 
late lamented king. Its ornaments are simple. A golden 
crown rests on a cushion of marble and before these stands a 
small bronze eagle with outstretched wings. Beneath it a 
plate bears the plain inscription : 



Vittorio Emanuele, (Re df Italia. 



From the floor to the beginning of the curve of the dome 
the wall is covered with wreaths of all sizes testifying the 
love of the people for the king, who united the governments 
of Italy. On the right of the altar a plain inscription on the 
stone records the fact that it is the resting place of the bones 



142 

of Raphael, who has done so much to make Rome attractive. 
No flowers are near to proclaim his honor but the admira- 
tion for him is none the less deep and strong. 

From this interesting relic of antiquity I walked to the 
bridge of St. Angelo, which Hadrian built. Here I first 
saw the Tiber, whose name is so familiar to the reader. I 
found it as muddy as fame had reported it, for there is noth- 
ing that would make it interesting but its history. It is 
about of the size of our own Scioto, but is never as 
clear. But still this stream, though it is dark and muddy, 
has been consecrated by contact with the great, and its ug- 
liness is sacred. 

Crossing the bridge, which is terminated on the opposite 
bank by the shapely castle of St. Angelo, which Hadnan 
built for his tomb, I took the street toward the west, and 
soon reached the elliptical Piazza of St. Peter's. Merely 
glancmg at the grand colonnades and the Egyptian obelisk 
in the center, I hastened up the steps to the entrance of the 
church. The effect of the immense proportions of the in- 
terior is wonderful. Without appreciating the distances 
fully, one has still a feeling of awe as though before the im- 
measurable size of a mountain cavern. One stands at the 
foot of the columns and his head scarcely reaches to the top 
of the ornamental grooves which form their bases. Then 
he may well wonder that human hands should build so 
great a pile. The canopy which covers the altar under 
the dome seems but small in comparison to the arches of the 
roof, and yet it is ninety-eight feet in height. Without 
pausing then to examine the details, I walked around the 
walls enjoying the general view of the endless variety of ar- 
tistic forms. 



A student's views abroad. 143 

I felt now that I could sleep quietly, and returned across 
the Tiber to the modern quarters of the city. I was com- 
pletely suprised to find how new and prosperous everything 
seemed. The glittering shops were all that one could ex- 
pect in an American town. I had thought of Rome as a 
gloomy, half-ruined place, with narrow, crooked streets, but 
found comfortable buildings and magnificent avenues, all 
alive with business. Everything was like paradise, com- 
pared to the slimy alleys and hideous houses of Naples. 
Rome to-day is not what Rome once was, but she may yet 
regain her ancient prestige, and though the barbarians be- 
yond the sea and Alps refuse to bow the knee, she may 
lead the redeemed Italy to a place honored among the na- 
tions. Not knowing of ill, let us hope for good. 

One of the numerous excursions which I have made has 
been to that part of the city lying south of the Aventine 
Mount. In ancient times this would have been a walk 
through busy streets thickly bordered with houses, but that 
district now wears the aspect of the country. Following 
the road along the banks of the Tiber, I paused sometimes 
to look at the scene on the river. A half dozen small sail 
boats and two little steamers were all the shipping visible 
on this stream which in the Roman times was crowded with 
vessels from all the ports of the Mediterranean. The 
Tiber has left so much of its mud in the bed of the channel 
that it is navigable now only for the smaller craft. 

A short distance farther down the stream, T left the road 
and made a visit to the site of the ancient quay. Pope 
Pius Ninth caused excavations to be made here which 
brought to light numerous remains of the old works. The 



144 ^ student's views abroad. 

most noticeable are two stone slabs which contain holes for 
the fastening of the vessels, and a portion of an inclined 
plane used in landing heavy goods. These fragments of 
the Roman wharf lie entirely outside of the modern city. 
The region is covered with wild vegetation, and the only in- 
dications of life are the few drowsy fishermen that are scat- 
tered along the bank. 

The main road to which 1 returned, skirts the base of the 
Aventine Mount, affording one a view of the ivy-covered 
ruins and beautiful cypresses which stand on the summit. Be- 
fore reaching the Aurelian wall which shows the extent of 
the ancient city, I turned off the main road and visited 
the old and new Protestant cemeteries. The latter is a 
small but tastefully arranged ground, shaded with cypress. 
Its chief interest for me, however, was the fact that it con- 
tains the grave of Shelley . I wandered sometime among 
the tombs searching for it and looking at the varied charac- 
ter of the epitaphs. The cemetery contains the graves of 
non-Catholics of all nations and as each one's monument 
is marked in his own language, there are, of course, some 
strange contrasts in the people that lie side by side . Eng- 
lish and German are by far the most numerous, but 1 noticed 
also French, Russian, Greek and Chinese . After looking 
nearly everywhere in vain for Shelley's grave, I at last 
caught sight of the words " Cor cordium, " on a stone, and 
then I knew my search was at an end. A simple horizontal 
slab of marble close to the city wall marks the grave, and 
bears the following inscription : " Percy Bysshe Shelley, 



145 

Cor Cordium, Natus IV Aug. MDCCXCII : Obiit VIII 
Jul. MDCCCXXII. 

' Nothing of him that doth fade, 

But doth suffer a sea-change 

Into something rich and strange.' " 

Here the sweet voiced poet sleeps under the waving 
cypresses and within the shadow of the wall of ancient 
Rome. What a great spirit he was ! The world has not 
thought fit to build him a grand monument, but as long as 
beauty has admirers marble and brass will not be necessary 
to perpetuate his fame. 

The old cemetery adjoins the new one and has also an im- 
perishable claim upon the reader of English literature. 
Near the entrance is a tomb which bears evidence of recent 
attention, and under it reposes the body of Keats. Ob- 
servers of the state of public opinion tell us that his pop- 
ularity is steadily mcreasing, and the fresh testimonials at 
his resting place seem to indicate that it is true. The taste- 
ful monument bears the original inscription : "This grave 
contains all that was mortal of a young English poet, who 
on his death-bed, in the bitterness of his heart at the mali- 
cious power of his enemies, desired these words to be en- 
graven on his tombstone, *Here lies one whose name was 
writ in water.' Feb. 24th, 182 1." Some of his admirers 
have caused a large marble tablet to be inserted in an ad- 
jacent wall bearing a bas-relief of the poet and the follow- 
ing lines in verse : 

" Keats! if thy cherished name be ' writ in water, ' 
Each drop has fallen from some mourner's cheek ; 
Asserted tribute, such as heroes seek. 
Though oft in vain, for dazzling deeds of slaughter. 
Sleep on ! not honored less for epitaph so meek. '* 



146 

Immediately in the rear of the old cemetery is the prom- 
inent tomb of Cestius which is built in by the wall of 
Aurelian. It is a pyramid one hundred and seventeen feet 
in height with smooth sides composed of marble blocks. It 
is one of the best preserved tombs that have come down tO' 
us from the Roman times. Cestius was a prominent man 
of the last century before our era but I believe all our knowl- 
edge of his character is gained from his epitaph. 

The gate of St. Paul is in this neighborhood and as a fire 
was then raging in a building just without the walls, I had 
an opportunity to see a Roman department at work. In the 
morning when on the Palatine Mount I had seen the blaze 
and smoke and heard the buglers in a neighboring barrack 
blow the alarm for a half hour . It was late in the the after- 
noon when I reached the scene of the conflagration and I 
found a sight worthy of minute description. Several com- 
panies of the army were on the spot assisting the numerous 
firemen. Two small hand-engmes were standing in front 
of the building and two others were at wells in adjoining 
yards. The hose attached to these instruments was about 
of the same size as that used for garden purposes in Amer- 
ica. I went to the yard where one of the engines stood and 
found that they were using an ordinary pump and a bucket in 
order to raise the water from the well to the machine. They 
found it impossible to throw a stream to the top of the house 
from the yard and therefore placed the two engines near 
the wall and carried the water to them in buckets . When 
I arrived the extinguishing process had been dropped to give 
the workmen an opportunity to rest. The building that was 
burning seemed to have been a sort of warehouse and a 



147 

■few bales of straw had been dragged into the road. The 
interior was blazing with a zeal that mocked the puny efforts 
to stay it. A few of the firemen were on a ladder contemplat- 
ing the conflagration ; some others were giving orders which 
no one heeded; but the majority were reclining on the res- 
cued bales and complacently chewing the straw. One por- 
tion of thti burning building was occupied by a restaurant 
which had been spared by the flames and its proprietor v/as 
doing an immense business in supplying the firemen and sol- 
diers with wine and other refreshments. The calmness with 
which the extinguishing corps could sit and drink while an-^ 
other part of the building was burning was something 
beautiful to witness. Late the next day from a hill several 
miles distant I saw the smoke ascending as strong as ever, 
and there can be no doubt that the house burned until every- 
thing combustible was exhausted A week after I first vis- 
ited the scene, I passed the spot while on another excursion. 
The engines, ladders, hose and firemen were still there. 
Water was still in the buckets. But the fire was dead — it 
had died for want of food. 

When we remember that to these firemen have been en- 
trusted the relics of ancient Rome, let us rejoice that brick 
and stone are not combustible. We have no CoHseum in 
our noble country, but we have fire departments that would 
surprise the Italians. For these blessings let us be thank- 
ful. 

The process of uncovering the remains of ancient Rome 
is progressing slowl}' but constantly, and man}-^ once name- 
less walls have been found to be a part of ruins grand in 
their proportions and interesting in their details. By far 



148 

the most imposing and extensive of these are the imperial pal- 
aces which cover the Palatine Hill. It can scarcely now be 
said that: 

" Caesar's chambers and the Augustan halls 
Grovel on earth in indistinct decay. " 

The excavations since Byron's time have brought to light 
a series of structures that, next to the Coliseum, are perhaps 
the most impressive in Rome, They give us a fair idea of 
the vastness, if not of the magnificence, of the ancient pal- 
aces. Time has shorn them of their ornaments and made 
the object of many parts uncertain, but time could not cause 
the gigantic walls to crumble entirely to dust, and enough 
remains to awe the beholder with the majesty that hath 
been. 

The visitor to the Palatine Hill first rambles through a 
number of large, half-buried apartments, whose use cannot 
be indicated with certainty. The lofty arches, and massive 
foundations tell of the vastness of the original structure and 
the fragments of mosaic and statues give a faint hint of its 
magnificence. These are the remains of the palace of Cal- 
igula. A few arches are still pointed out of the bridge 
which he built over the Forum to the Capitol in order to have 
a direct communication with the temple of the Capitoline 
Jupiter, "whose image on earth he pretended to be. " 

From these chambers the visitor ascends to the ground 
which lies above them . This is laid out into a pleasant gar- 
den, and the air is fragrant with the blooming roses, which 
border the paths . This hill has had a great part in the his- 
tory of Rome. Here the real Romulus built his city, which 
became the fruitful germ which produced the empire. Here 
Cicero, Mark Antony, the Gracchi, and many others of 



149 

Plutarch's divine men have lived. Then, the hill was ap- 
propriated by the emperors for their palaces and now nature 
has claimed her own and ivy covers the walls where mon- 
archs dwelt in their pride. 

On the opposite side of the Palatine from the vaulted 
chambers, of which I have spoken, a small house has been 
excavated, which was the only private dwelling in the vi- 
cinity of the Imperial palaces . It is supposed that it was the 
residence of the father of the Emperor Tiberius. This was 
gathered from the inscriptions on the lead water pipes of the 
house. From what strange sources do we get our history ! 
In the direction of the Coliseum the visitor comes upon the 
indistinct pile of brick and stone which once belonged to 
the temple of Jupiter Stator that Romulus is said to have 
founded. Back of this is the palace of the Flavii, which is 
the only portion of the ruins whose uses can be accurately 
determined. How it startles the fancy to walk through 
these apartments and thmk of the scenes that once were 
here! In a side chamber fragments of the imperial house- 
hold gods greet the stranger. In the grand salon adjoining 
this, the emperors sat on their throne and gave audiences to 
their subjects. One still sees the semi-circular apsis in the 
wall where the monarch's seat once stood, but there is Httle 
else left to tell of the glory of the place, for palaces fall to 
ruin as surely as hovels. The next apartment is where the 
emperor pronounced his legal decisions. He sat on a tri- 
bune at one end of the room, and was separated from the 
people by a marble railing. The traveler can muse over the 
fragment that remains of this, but time has broken down 
the dividing line and, alas for the monarch! he is now no 



150 A student's views abroad. 

more than one of the common herd. In the rear of these 
apartments the visitor enters the spacious dining hall, and 
from that reaches the fountain room, which contains a large 
elliptical basin with a shelved elevation in the center, upon 
which were ranged the flowers that were sprinkled with the 
spray from thefountam. A few of the marble slabs re- 
main, but the earth there bears a ranker growth of vegeta- 
tion now than when the imperial star was in the ascendancy. 
Lizards creep about the spot that ministered to the monarch's 
pleasure, and perhaps a resurrected Caesar would be dis- 
gusted to find that even his scepter has been powerless to 
stay the inroads of time. 

A path along the hillside leads to another series of ruins 
on the opposite extremity of the Palatine Mount. These 
are the palaces of Commodus and Septimus Severus. The 
details of the building are less distinct than those of the 
other structures, but the immense walls form a much more 
impressive spectacle . Another path runs down the slope to 
some ruins which were once a school for the imperial slaves. 
The plaster bears to this day scrawls which afforded a mo- 
mentary occupation for the idle hands of mischief makers. 
Some scratched their names on the walls, while the more 
artistic drew unsightly caricatures, It seems to have been 
as severe a task seventeen centuries ago to " teach the young 
idea how to shoot," in the right way, as it is at present. We 
are undoubtedly entitled to conclude that the bad boy is not 
an invention of modern times. 

Continuing along this path near the base of the hill, one 
passes an ancient altar dedicated to the unknown God. The 
simple shrine has long been deserted, but, if I read aright. 



A STUDENTS VIEWS ABROAD. 15I 

this mute stone rebukes the creed of modern Rome which 
adorns her churches with portraits of the Almighty. 

Not far from this emblem of a forgotten faith, a portion 
of the first wall of Rome is exposed to view. By the side 
of this fragment of the ancient fortifications is a small cave 
which tradition identifies with the Lupercal Grotto, in which 
the wolf took refuge, when driven by the shepherds from 
the babes, Romulus and Remus. I have in this trip touch- 
ed a great many of those places with which our first Latin 
books make us unpleasantly familiar. But if the history of 
all the ruins of the Palatine could be known with certainty, 
the hill would be of unequaled interest. Even as it is, a ram- 
ble through the nooks and corners is as entertaining and im- 
pressive as any similar excursion in Rome. 

•* Cypress and ivy, weed and wall-flower grown 

Matted and mass'd together, hillocks heap'd 
On what were chambers, arch crush'd, column strown 

In fragments, cho^ed-up vaults, and frescoes steep' d 
In subterranean damps, where the owl peep'd. 

Deeming it midnight : — temples, baths, or halls? 
Pronounce who can ; for all that learning reap'd 

From her research hath been, that these are walls — 
Behold the Imperial Mount ! 'Tis thus the mighty falls. " 

Across the valley in which the Coliseum stands, on the 
slope of the EsquiHne HilJ, are a number of ruins which are 
less extensive than those I have described, but are hardly 
less interesting. This was the scene of the conflagration 
during Nero's reign, and is the site of his famous golden pal- 
ace. But the tryant's mansion soon fell into decay, and Ti- 
tus built above it the vast baths which bear his name. Thus 
there are three different structures here — the remains of the 
original houses and the two buildings of Nero and Titus . 
The character of the ruins is much the same as those on the 



152 

Palatine, being vast arched chambers and halls . With the 
aid of torches one can trace the hnes of many of the beauti- 
ful frescoes which adorned the golden palace of Nero. 
Some of these were models for Raphael in decorating the 
Vatican. The visitor is conducted to the dining and bath 
rooms of the palace and is shown the niche in which the 
famous Laocoon group stood . At one place a portion of 
the mosaic pavement of the house of Maecenas has been 
uncovered, for that patron of letters had a residence here 
before the great fire, and its remains were afterward hidden 
by the buildings of Nero. 

Thus on the Esquiline and Palatine the palaces of the 
mighty are crumbling to dust. Scarcely a fragment of their 
ancient glor}^ remains, and a longer existence of the ruined 
walls will not be owing to the imperial power, but to the 
protection of scholars. 

One of the latest lines of railway communication which 
have been opened in the vicinity of Rome is the route which 
leads to the mouth of the Tiber. This makes the trip a 
convenient excursion for a single day and I accordingly set 
out by the early train, hoping for pleasant weather, although 
I have ceased to have any confidence in the Italian sky after 
six weeks' experience of frequent rains. Yet the country 
looks so fresh and green that I can almost forget my dis- 
agreeable encounters with the storms when I get out among 
its beauties. 

The railroad passes along near the Tiber affording occa- 
sional glimpses of the muddy stream which is rarely disturb- 
ed by the boats. As we drew near to the sea the train stop- 
ped a few minutes at the station at Porto, which takes its 



A student's views abroad.. 153 

name from the harbor constructed hereby Emperors Claud- 
ius and Trajan . The Tiber at present has two outlets . 
The depM3sits of the river have caused the coast 
line to advance about twelve feet annually and 
the sand had so accumulated at the mouth in the first 
century of our era that it was found necessarv to excavate a 
new channel toward the north of the old one. Although 
the canal is much narrower than the main stream, it is used 
exclusively by the vessels. At the point where the Tiber 
entered the sea, Trajan constructed the harbor of Porto, 
but the deposits of the river have constantly increased and 
the ancient haven is now a shallow lake two miles from 
the coast. I obtained a glimpse of its waters as the train 
passed on its way, 

A few minutes later we reached Fiumicino, a small vil- 
lage which has taken Porto's place at the mouth of the 
Tiber. The river deposits continue, however, to advance 
into the sea and after a century or two this town will no 
doubt be far inland. I walked out to the extremity of the 
mole which has been constructed at the mouth to facilitate 
the passage of the vessels. The water in the neighborhood 
of the outlet is polluted by the sediment of the Tiber and 
looks as muddy as the yellow stream itself. Here an 
unpleasant looking fellow in a shabby suit of fashionably 
cut clothes, came up to me and wanted to shave me . To 
prove that he meant business he drew his tools from his 
pocket and showed that he was ready to begin operations at 
once. His face indicated that he had very recently tried the 
process on himself and his cheeks were hacked in every di- 
rection as though he had been fighting a German student's 



154 A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 

duel. I have submitted with a tolerable degree of patience 
to be worried from morning to night by guides, beggars., 
hawkers, street boys, h^ck drivers^ hotel runners, and other 
plagues, but to be accosted by an itinerate barber upon the 
sea-beach, a half mile from a human habitation, that is a 
great deal too much. I gave that fellow distinctly and emphat- 
ically to understand that I did not propose to be skinned 
just then and there . He withdrew to the background but 
continued to eye me, as though he longed to have my scalp, 

I returned to the village and crossed the floating bridge 
to the Sacred Island, which is formed by the two arms of 
the Tiber. It is a large, low tract of land, covered with 
pasture where herds of fierce-looking cattle are feeding. 
A new gravel road afforded me a rough but dry walk of 
three miles to the ferry on the opposite side. Two men 
upon pack-horses far before me formed a characteristic feat- 
ure of the scene. When I reached the other arm of the 
Tiber I found the riders had hitched their animals and were 
within a straw shanty drinking wine with the boatmen . I 
sat on the bank until they were ready to cross. When they 
finally came out, I found the ferryman one of those big 
whiskered, loud-voiced, jovial sort of persons, who seem 
peculiar to the fisherman class. He gave the orders in pre- 
paring the boat with a sunny egotism, and exhibited a su- 
preme contempt for those who know nothing of his art. 
We lazily crossed the stream which is two or three times as 
large as the other branch. 

From the point where we landed the ruins of the ancient 
town of Ostia extend for a mile up the stream. I entered 
a field where numerous mounds in all directions mark the 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD. I 55 

spots where great houses once have stood . The ground is 
thickly strewn with fragments of stone and brick and the 
present cultivators of the place no doubt curse the old 
Romans for spoiling the soiL After passing many name- 
less ruins I reached the large, quadrangular temple of the 
Magna Mater, which towers far above the rest of the an- 
cient city . I climbed up the steps and then descended to 
the basement, but a few pieces of the rich marble are all 
that remain of the glory of the ancient shrine. 

I next visited the buildings that have been excavated near 
the temple. A part of the old pavement still preserves the 
ruts woi n by the toil of other days. Some of the houses 
bear remnants of frescoes but desolation rules over all. 
How sadly one's foot-steps echo within the deserted walls as 
he walks along the streets where gayety once reigned. It 
is a mournful task to contemplate the fate of man and 
mark how the hero who has ruled the world dwindles to 
a paltry heap of dust, but it is scarcely less sad to view a 
city in ruins and note the broken arches, fallen columns and 
sunken pavements, where beauty once held its sway. 

1 resumed m}^ walk and passed another long series of in- 
distinguishable ruins and at length entered the street of the 
tombs. A number of marble sarcophagi are to be seen and 
pieces of the cinery urns are still imbedded in the walls of 
some of the tombs, but the fate which destroyed the homes 
of the living, has not spared the resting places of the dead. 
Man builds great struc^tures to keep his dear dust from mix- 
ing with vulgar clay but nature rends his frail heaps of 
stone and claims her due. 

A few minutes more brought me to the modern village 



iS6 

of Ostia. It has a picturesque castle and is surrounded with 
walls, but it does not contain a hundred inhabitants and it 
looks more like the courtyard of a stronghold than a place 
aspiring to the dignity of the name of a town. The mean- 
ness of the present village is a great contrast to the pros- 
perity of the port under the early Romans when mariners- 
of every nation thronged its streets. But we are creatures, 
of time . 

I returned to the ferry by a path along the river, passing 
the ruins of the baths where some beautiful marble columns 
are still standing . The ferryman was jolly as ever and I 
bought a couple of papal coins which he found in one corner 
of his pocket. One would not be much suprised to find old 
Roman money in use among such antiquated fisherman who 
are scarcely influenced by the present civilization. After 
walking across the island I found. the train ready to start 
from Fiumicino and an hour later I was in Rome. 

One of the most prominent and pleasing objects com- 
prised in the grand view which one has from the hills of 
Rome, is the Albanian range of mountains, whose wooded 
heights form the background of the scene, toward the south 
west. They deserve a visit not only for their natural beauty, 
but also on account of their historical associations. The 
ruins to be seen are not extensive, but it is interesting to 
trace the places that have played so great a part . 

I left Rome by the early train, one morning, and, after an 
hour's ride reached Frascati, a town situated on the lower 
part of the slope of the mountains. It seems to be nothing 
better nor worse than an ordinary country place with a tol- 
erable degree of prosperity, and I only paused a few min- 



157 

utes to look at the two churches. The newer one contains 
the monument of Charles Edward, the young pretender, 
who died at Frascati, January 31st, 1788. The inscrip- 
tion records, of course, the fiction that his father was James 
III., King of Great Britain, Ireland and France. 

The principal attractions of Frascati are the villas which 
are admirabl}^ situated on the hillside above the town. These 
are places of refuge for numbers of Romans during the 
heated term, and their grounds afford all the advantages of 
a public park. My course up the mountain led me past 
the villa Ruffinella, which is the most famous of all. It is a 
large and rather plain building, but its location is very fine. 
It was once the property of Lucian Buonaparte; afterwards 
it was owned by Maria Christina, Queen of Sardinia; and 
at present it belongs to the crown. It is the scene of one 
of Washington Irving's sketches, "The Adventure of the 
Artist." The sky was unusually clear, and I enjoyed the 
view of the Campania, from a terrace in front of the house. 
The spire of St. Peter's stands boldly out above the rest of 
Rome, when seen from a distance, and then we can appre- 
ciate its immense height. 

From the Villa Ruffinella, I ascended the mountain for a 
half hour by a beautifully shaded road. At length I reach- 
ed some scattered ruins and an ancient pavement, which in- 
dicated that I was approaching the site of Tusculum. This 
place is said to have been founded by Telemachus, son of 
Ulysses, and was the birthplace of Cato the Censor. 
Cicero had a famous villa in the neighborhood. It is sup- 
posed that it stood on the spot now occupied by the Ruf- 
finella, but the guides of the country who are innocent of 



158 A student's views abroad. 

learning, have attached the orator's name to one of the ruined 
buildings which have been excavated at Tusculum. Only a 
few ancient structures can be seen which retain any definite 
shape . Among these is a theater, whose stone seats are 
nearly all preserved entire. A short distance beyond this is 
an elevation upon which the citadel stood. It was used as 
a castle during the middle ages by a race of lords who were 
allies of the Emperors and was therefore taken and de- 
stroyed by the Romans in 1191. A path, over fragments 
of stone, leads past some ancient cisterns to the summit, 
which is now almost level. On one of the loftiest points 
some of the old blocks have been piled up to the height of 
about ten feet, and a large wooden cross placed above these. 
From this artificial elevation one has a fine view in all di- 
rections. But the sky was already partially obscured by 
the clouds, which this treacherous spring weather seems 
never tired of sending, and I found that my rejoicmg over 
the clear atmosphere was somewhat premature. 

Four or five miles distant I could see Mount Cavo, the 
highest peak of the Alban range, rising far above the sur- 
rounding summits. The town of Rocca di Papa on its near- 
est slope was the next object of my movements, but between 
us lay the broad valley, covered with thick underbrush, 
through which the road passes. A complicated network of 
paths which are sometimes indistinguishable, is the only 
means of communication, and it is no ordinary task for a 
stranger to find the way. As long as 1 am within a half 
day's march of a railroad I have confidence in myself in 
spite of the fact that my knowledge of Italian is extremely 
meager, and so I set out boldly, hoping for a safe passage 



A student's views abroad. 159 

through the labyrinth . After descending the hill by Tus- 
culum and crossing a small stream I entered a pasture field 
by a path which seemed to lead in the right direction . But 
it soon disappeared and I was left to flounder along through 
the wet grass as best I could. After surmounting this dif- 
ficulty, I wandered about in some cornfields till I finally 
found a path leading through the matted underbrush. But 
like the other it constantly dwindled in size until I was com- 
pelled to struggle through the bushes with the faintest pos- 
sible clue to the way. My perseverance was at length re- 
warded, and I emerged into a larger road, and, after an 
hour's walk, reached Rocca di Papa. The town is built on 
so steep an incline that the houses seemed piled up one upon 
another. There is nothing whatever to be seen in the 
place and the importunities of beggars and street boys ef- 
fectually dispel any desire to stop. I ascended to the upper 
part of the town and was about to enter the open country 
again when it began to rain and I was forced to seek shelter 
under the eaves of one of the houses. It seemed but a pass- 
ing shower and I soon set out for the summit. 

On reaching the open space immediately above Rocca di 
Papa, I found an extensive circular valley spread out be- 
fore me, which was surrounded by a ragged ridge, which 
plainly indicated that it had once been a volcano. The 
vast crater now bears the name of Camp of Hannibal, from 
a tradition that the Carthagenian General once encamped 
here during his campaign against Rome. 

From this point a good road leads to the slope of Mount 
Cavo, coinciding at the upper part with the ancient Via 
Triumphalis, by which those Generals who had been de- 



i6o A student's views abroad. 

nied a triumph at Rome ascended the peak and celebrated 
one on an independent basis. The road is paved with 
blocks of basalt and remarkably well preserved. I had not 
proceeded very far up the mountain until I was enveloped in 
clouds like a thick fog, and the rain began to descend in 
torrents. I crouched under the overhanging trunk of a tree 
and kept tolerably dry until a peasant woman came along 
and pointed out a place of shelter under a shelf of rock. I 
stood there for tw^o hours, watching the flood pouring down 
over the stones and thinking of those eight miles I had to 
make to the railway station before seven o'clock. 

The storm finally moderated a little, and I started to run 
for the summit. Above, below and around me the clouds 
hid everything from view except what v^as in the imn^.ediate 
neighborhood, but I dashed on up the Via Triumphalis in a 
very untriumphant manner, and reached the monastery at 
the top just as the storm began afresh. 

After an hour of melancholy gazing at the rain, the 
clouds gradually parted below and disclosed the bright, 
green Campania, smiling in the sun . I shall never forget 
the thrill of pleasure it gave when that scene suddenly ap- 
peared far beneath my feet. The sight was so unexpected 
and the change of feeling was so great, that I was com- 
pletely mastered by the agreeable surprise of the moment. 
Then the misty curtain rolled back farther and I saw the 
placid waters of Lake Albano, nestling in the depths of the 
forest and enclosed by a range of hills. By its side lay the 
long, green ridge, where Rome's early rival. Alba Longa, 
stood. But still the clouds rolled back, and the Lake of 
Nemi appeared, glistening in the sun, worthy of her an- 



A student's views abroad. i6i 

dent name "the mirror of Diana, the gem of the Alban 
Mounts." Far over the distant Campania I saw the blue 
line of the sea near the horizon. On this grand peak, 
Childe Harold ceases his song with that immortal address 
to the ocean, and if Byron saw this scene as I have seen it, 
he did well in choosing it for a worthy conclusion. I forgot 
the dreary waiting, forgot the long walk before me, forgot 
that I was cold and wet, forgot all in rapture of the view. 
I forgave the storm and felt fully repaid for anything I had 
undergone. 

Finally, after three hours of constant rain, the clouds 
passed partly away and I was able to descend the mountain. 
At half-past four I reached Rocca di Papa, and then turn- 
ed toward Albano, having two hours and a half in which to 
make the eight miles to the station. 1 had no such difficulty 
as in coming from Tusculum . I found paths, but the 
trouble was I found too many, and could not tell which one 1 
wanted. I was compelled to turn back a great many times 
and try another road. The dense underbrush hid the 
mountain from view and I had forgotten my compass. Not 
a house was to be seen, and the thick black clouds that 
were gathering in the sky added to my distress. Time was 
passing surprisingly, and my chances for getting back to 
Rome that night seemed very poor. I ran this way and 
that along the slippery roads, until I had the satisfaction of 
emerging from the woods and seeing a town in the dis- 
tance. I thought I saw a train and concluded I had missed 
my way and this was a railway station. I did not stop to 
debate the question, but left the road and started directly 
across the fields. 1 had not gone far, however, before I 



1 62 A student's views abroad. 

became entangled in an immense thicket of brush. I was 
a half hour in penetrating this and the rain had commenced 
to fall, but I rushed on to the town, and found that I had 
not seen a train but the side of a lofty viaduct, by which I 
recognized that the place was Ariccia, three-quarters of a 
mile from Albano. And so with all my difficulties I had 
come in the right direction, and made the distance quicker 
than is set down in the guide books. 

As I descended the long stretch of two miles and a half 
from Albano to the railway I met, I think, nearly all of the 
laboring population. The peasants of this district are cele- 
brated for their beauty, and I never seen the working class 
anywhere so good looking. One would suppose such hand- 
some faces were the idols of the drawing-room instead of 
the slaves of the cornfield. I reached the station ten min- 
utes before the train and was soon resting from my long and 
wearisome walk in the cars that were whirling towards 
Rome. Suck was one day's pilgrimage. 

I made a day's excursion to Tivoli, seventeen miles from 
Rome, to see the famous falls and the temples and villa of 
Hadrian . At other times I walked out the ancient roads to 
see the reHcs of antiquity which are scattered along their 
sides. 

In my three weeks stay at Rome I was busy every day 
visiting the numberless churches, the Vatican and Capito- 
line museums, the ruins, the villas, and the countless other 
places of interest. I ascended the lofty dome of St . Peter's 
and studied every part of the gigantic structure . I spent 
hours and hours at the Vatican and Capitol. At the Span- 
ish staircase I saw the most picturesque artists' models in 



A student's views abroad. 163 

the world. Peasant girls in rainbow tinted costumes and 
drovers from the Campania were there in their peculiar 
garb. I visited the burial chapel made of bones of monks . 
I went through the gloomy catacombs. To describe Rome 
properly would require a volume itself . I must be content 
with the notes I have already given. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FAREWELL TO ROME.^UP THE COAST TO LEGHORN. ARRIVAL- 

AT FLORENCE. THE ART TREASURES, CHURCHES AND' 

TOMBS OF THE TUSCAN CAPITAL. 



Three weeks residence in Rome made me so familiar 
with the streets, palaces and ruins of its seven hills that it 
seemed like parting with an old friend when I was compelled 
to take my leave and continue my pilgrimage. I went 
across the Tiber for a farewell look at the grand interior of 
St. Peter's and afterwards rambled for several hours among 
the scattered stones of the temples in the Roman Forum. 
In the evening I walked down to the Coliseum to watch the 
effect of the moonlight upon that monster ruin. The 
lines of Byron, which we used to declaim at school, made 
me eager to see the Coliseum under similar circumstances : 

"Upon such a night I stood Within the Colisenm's wall, 

Midst the chief relics of Almighty Rome ; 

The trees Which grew along the broken arches 

Waved dark in the blue midnight, and the star 

Shone through the rents of ruin ; from afar 

The Watch-dog bay'd beyond the Tiber ; and 

More near from out the Csesars' palace came 

The owl's long cry, and, interruptedly, 

Of distant sentinels the fitful song 

Begun and died upon the gentle wind. 

Some cypresses beyond the time-worn breach 

Appear' d to skirt the horizon, yet they stood 

Within a bowshot— Where the Csesars dwelt, 

And dwell the tuneless birds of night, amidst 

A grove which springs through levell'd battlements, 



A stud^ent's views abroad. 165 

-AticI twines its roots witli the imperial hearths, 

Svy Usurps the laurel's place of growth ;— 

Sut the gladiators' bloody Circus stands, 

A noble wreck in ruinous perfection 1 

While CsesaTS' chambers, and the Augustan halls, 

'Grovel on earth in indistinct decay. — 

And thou didst shine, thou rolling moon, upon 

All this, and cast a wide and tender light, 

Which soften''d down the hoar austerity 

Of rugg'd desolation, and fill'dup, 

As 'twere anew, the gaps of centuries, 

Leaving that beautiful which still was so, 

And making that which was not, till the plac6 

Became religion, and the heart ran o'er 

With silent worship of the great of old !— 

The dead, but sceptered sovereigns, who still rule 

Our spirits from their urns.''' 

But the final moment at length arrived and I took my 
place in the train for Leghorn. We ran around the walls 
to the north west, obtaining hurried glimpses of the city 
spires and the green cypresses which wave over Shelley's 
grave. Then w-e crossed the muddy Tiber and entered the 
broad plain. The hills to the right soon hid the Eternal 
City from view and I felt that the farewell might be forever. 

The recent frequent rains have made even the bleak 
Campania wear an unusual look of freshness, but apart 
from the green landscape there was little to be seen until we 
reached Civita Vecchia, a distance of some sixty miles. 
This place has in modern times assumed the importance of 
the sea-port of Rome, as the harbor facilities at the mouth 
of the Tiber are not sufficient for vessels of larger draught. 
I could see but little of the town from the train but the 
part that was visible was much cleaner than I was taught to 
expect. The funnel of a steamship near the light-house 
was sending up dense clouds of smoke and it seemed im- 
patient to get away from the dull town and float once more 
among the blue waves of the sea. 



i66 

All of my fellow passengers left the train at Civita 
Vecchia and for the rest of the day I had an apartment to 
myself and for a portion of the way I was the only person* 
in the entire car. The scenery for the next few hours was 
of the same general appearance. Upon the left I obtained 
frequent views of the sea. Upon the right the uncultivated 
plain stretched far awa}^ to the foot of the Apennines 
whose towering peaks formed the boundary of the scene. 
Houses and villages are very rare and fields of grain are 
seldom passed. Swamps are of frequent occurrence. This 
is the Maremme district which is famous for its malaria. 
The inhabitants are engaged in cattle grazing and charcoal 
burning. During the summer they move to the mountains 
and do not return until October. The lack of cultivation of 
the land is the cause of this fearful extent of the malaria and 
the condition of the country during the middle ages is said 
to have been even worse than the present . Many of those 
I saw at the stations exhibited the effects of the destructive 
ravages of the fever. The country is under a curse which 
only the toil of centuries can mitigate. 

Many of the heights along the railroad are surmounted by 
ruins of ancient Etruscan towns, some of which are visible 
from the train. This is the country that was peopled by 
that mysterious nation that was forced to succumb to its 
stronger southern rival. I visited a museum of Etruscan 
antiquities in Florence and was much astonished at the 
height of civilization which the articles indicate. We are 
trained to the comfortable egotism that four thousand years 
ago men were ignorant savages, two thousand years ago 
they were about half emerged from that state and now we 



i67 

have attained the limits of the possible and have all the arts 
and all the inventions that can proceed from the human 
brain. We think Socrates was a pitiable fellow because he 
never rode in a steamboat and we cannot conceal our con- 
tempt for Xenophon because he did not transport his ten 
thousand by a military railroad. Some of our ingenious 
friends are figuring on the book of Daniel to prove that the 
universe is to pass away during the existence of the present 
generation. Surely, they reason, when man reaches such a 
high stage of development as we have, it is time for the 
the world to return to its original elements. Everyone, 
whether he be learned or unlearned, finds his self-conceit 
in the present immensely less after visiting the museums of 
antiquities at Naples, Rome and Florence. There one ob- 
tains a worthier idea of the greatness of the older nations 
in every sense. 

The train proceeded on its way and we finally saw the isl- 
and of Elba, Napoleon's land of exile. The outline of its 
mountainous surface stood out boldly against the sky and 
seemed very beautiful, but it was all too small a sphere for the 
ambitious genius of Napoleon. He who had overturned 
monarchs like ninepins could not be content to rule an isle 
over which one could walk in a day. 

At the last station before Leghorn, I should have changed 
cars, as the trains from Rome run directly northward with- 
out touching that city. I paid no attention, however, to 
the_cries of the porters and as a consequence soon had the 
mortification of seeing the spires of Leghorn vanish in the 
background. After a quarter of an hour the train rolled 
into the depot at Pisa, and the officials demanded my fare if 



1^8 

I remained there but said I could return to Leghorn and 
they would ask nothing. This latter generous offer I gladly 
accepted and an hour later I was in Leghorn, none the worse 
off for my mistake , 

This little episode will nat be understood by Americans 
without some explanations. The Italian railways have a 
system of collecting tickets which is peculiar to themselves. 
The office is not opened until half an hour before the de- 
parture of a train and without a ticket one is not admitted 
to the waiting-rooms . A more inconvenient system could 
scarcely be devised . If one goes to the station before the 
office is open he is compelled to stand in a little anteroom^ 
that is crowded with loafers and poluted with the vilest to- 
bacco . If he is weary, he must solace himself with consulting 
the time tables for the hundredth time, or take a lesson in 
language from begrimed posters which announce a long de- 
parted excursion train. When the ticket is finally secured 
one is admitted to the waiting rooms. But who can sit 
down in a quiet frame of mind during the few minutes be- 
fore the train goes ? I have observed everywhere that the 
passengers fling their valises upon the cushioned seats and 
stand in impatient expectation of the unlocking of the door 
leading to the platform. When this is opened there is a 
grand scramble for the places in the carriages. The tickets 
are sometimes examined on the way, but not always . The 
conductor looks much hke a brakeman on a coal train in hot 
weather and belongs to an entirely different species from 
the gold chained, diamond ringed, fashionable gentry who 
collect the pasteboards on an American railroad . When 
one alights at his destination he still has his ticket but this 



169 

is taken by an official at the gateway which leads to the 
outer world. Should one from any cause wish to continue 
his journey he is compelled to walk completely around the 
station to find the ticket office, as the exit and entrance are 
always at opposite ends of the building. 

The busy commercial city of Leghorn presents all those 
varied scenes of activity which are familiar to the Americans, 
but she has neither treasures of art nor relics of antiquity 
to attract those who are seeking the special characteristics 
of Italy, She has buildings that are pleasing but not ex- 
traordinary. She has immense harbors and some few 
statues on her public squares. Her streets are admirably 
paved with broad, smooth slabs of stone. Beggars are a 
rarity within her gates. But these virtues are scarcely 
sufficient to detain the traveler for any considerable length 
of time. Several hours were all that I cared to spend, more 
especially because the inevitable rain had begun to fall. I 
know I have overlooked many of the wonders of Italy, but 
I have seen something more than any of my predecessors 
— I have seen it rain in nearly every large city on the pen- 
insula. In the past eight weeks in Italy, the sky has been 
as cloudy for the most of the time as it ever is in one of our 
prosy Northern countries. A German journahst observed 
last week that the May poets sang according to the calen- 
der, and not according to the weather. From my exper- 
ience I am tempted to say that those who glorify the ever 
blue Italian sky derive their inspiration from tradition, and 
not from the reality. But this I will not insist on. 

The country traversed by the railroad from Leghorn to 
Pisa is low and fiat and intersected by numerous canals from 



i7o 

the Arno. Beyond Pisa the route to Florence runs close to 
the river, and the scenery gradually increases in beauty. 
On each side rise the mountains with their bright green 
mantles of grass, their white villas and their shapely cy- 
presses. The valley between these two barriers has a veg- 
etation that seems to be of tropical luxuriance. The pecul- 
iar style of Italian farming conduces much to cause this 
effect. The fields, which are planted with grain, are inter- 
sected with rows of fruit trees, which are connected with 
each other by big vines. These three kinds of vegetation 
growmg at the same place form a beautiful scene, such as 
one never finds in the grain districts of northern lands. 

It was still raining when we arrived at Florence, but I 
managed to get around considerably in spite of the fury of 
the storm. I was three days in the city. The last two were 
very cold, although it was the latter part of May in that 
land which we dream is the eternal home of sunshine. 
Everybody who had an overcoat put it on, and those who 
were not so fortunate buttoned their coats up to their chins 
and ran shivering along the streets, seekmg shelter from the 
wind behind the buildings. 

Florence has a location which I admire very much . It 
lies on both banks of the broad and rapid Arno, although 
the greater part is on the right side of the stream. Upon 
the left the hills press close to the river, and the observer 
from the opposite bank has a varied view that is very pleas- 
ing. At his feet, flow the foaming waters. Beyond lie the 
bright-colored houses, and above these the fresh-looking 
gardens and groves of cypresses stretch away to the sum- 
mits of the hills. High over all the distant peaks of the 



Apennines stand out, capped with snow and enveloped in a 
canopy of clouds. If one ascends one of the heights on the 
left bank of the Arno he soon obtains a splendid view of the 
city and the adjacent portion of the valley. So that whether 
as a part of the landscape or as a standpoint of observation, 
the hills are an advantage to the beauty of Florence. 

Everyone is favorably impressed with the Tuscan capital, 
especially if he has just left the filth and wretchedness of 
Southern Italy. The streets are well paved, the houses are 
of pleasing exterior and the people have an honest and 
obliging character. Beggars are seldom seen and even the 
needy and deserving are said to have the same pride as 
northern nations, which restrains them from that unmanly 
resort except in cases of extreme necessity. The people 
have a polite bearing which reminds one of the French. 
The shopkeepers do not fail to thank one even for the small- 
est purchases. 

The Piazza della Signoria has maintained its rank from 
the earliest times to the present as the center of hfe in Flor- 
ence. Here the zealous reformer Savonarola and two other 
monks were burned at the stake in 1498. The square is now 
adorned with a fountain and an equestrian statue of Cosmo I. 
and is bordered by some of the most famous buildings in 
the city. Upon one side stands the old palace, whose rough 
walls and battlements, and lofty, slender tower form a strange 
but impressive spectacle. Upon the adjoining side of the 
square is situated the Loggia dei Lanzi, an open portico 
filled with some valuable specimens of statuary. In the cor- 
ner between these structures is the entrance to a long, nar- 
row court which is surrounded on three sides by the lofty 



172 

building which contains the far famed collections called the 
Galleria degli Uffizi. A broad arcade extends around the 
court and the outer side of its columns are embellished with 
statues of famous Tuscans. It is but necessary to mention 
a few of their names to show what a great part this prov- 
ince has played in the history of the world. Among them 
are Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Macchiavelli, Guicciardini, 
Giotto, Michael Angelo, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, 
Galileo and Amerigo Vespucci, the godfather of our land. 
Enough of genius is here to make Tuscany a sacred place, 
whatever her future may be. 

The Museum is not so extensive as that at Naples, nor 
does it contain as valuable treasures as the Vatican collec- 
tion, but it is nevertheless one of the finest in the world. Its 
ancient statues comprise such famous pieces as the Niobe 
groups, the Thorn Extractor, the Scythian Knife Grinder, 
and the Medici Venus. Besides these there are dozens of 
the master-pieces of Raphael, Michael Angelo, Titian and 
the other great painters of Italy. Even the artists of the 
Dutch, German, French and Spanish schools are well repre- 
sented. At this season the halls are thronged with north- 
ern visitors, and one is surprised when he meets a native, 
instead of the opposite being the case. In traveling now 
one often sees the same persons in the city that he met a few 
days before several hundred miles away. I found a com- 
pany at Ravenna which I had previously seen at the Palace 
of the Doges at Venice. Some Germans whom I met in 
the Albanian Mountains near Rome I saw ten days later 
riding through the streets of Milan. So it is with many 
others. 



173 

A covered passage leads from the gallery of the offices 
across the old bridge to the collections in the Pitti Palace, 
which stands on the opposite bank of the Arno. The build- 
ing is one of the largest, most peculiar and most impressive 
in Florence. It is built of immense blocks of unsmoothed 
stones, and its simple massiveness seems to disdain all resort 
to the flimsy ornaments of ordinary structures. It was be- 
gun as early as the middle of the fifteenth century, but was 
not completed until the eighteenth. At present it belongs to 
the crown, and is used by the royal family whenever they 
reside at Florence. 

The collection of paintings yields to few in the world in 
rank or value and perhaps to none in the magnificence of its 
halls. The ceilings are decorated with frescoes whose sub- 
jects form the titles of the rooms. Gilded chairs with velvet 
cushions are conveniently arranged for the accommodation of 
the visitors, and each apartment contains rich tables of lapis 
lazuli, granite and jasper. The walls present such an array of 
masterpieces that I was of course perfectly bewildered. There 
are a great many Madonnas by Raphael in the collection, and 
these attract crowds of copyists. I am usually as uncritical 
as Mark Twain, and think that the bright new copy is better 
than the old smoky original, but even I could see the enor- 
mous difference between the expressions of the master- 
pieces of Raphael and those of the imitations. The phys- 
iognomies of his Madonnas are widely varied, but he 
breathes into every face a soul of tender love mingled with 
sadness, which his copyists seek in vain to produce. Their 
striving after the sublimity of the original often results in a 
ridiculous caricature. 



174 ^ student's views abroad. 

The Cathedral of Florence is one of the largest and finest 
examples of the Italian gothic architecture. The immense 
structure, with the exception of the facade, is entirely cov- 
ered with black and white marble. In our rich country we 
can hardly afford to buy a piece of that expensive material 
of sufficient size to mark the spot where our bodies pass to 
their original elements, but in this land of paupers we find 
the churches embellished with acres of the costly stone. 
The facade of the Cathedral was formerly covered with 
frescoes but these have long since faded away, and in April 
i860. King Victor Emmanuel laid the foundation for a mar- 
ble front. The work has proceeded but slowly and though 
twenty years have elapsed, the scaffolding is still up and 
the project is not fulfilled. Marble makes a fine appearance 
when new but it becomes sadly discolored with age. When 
one admires a building of that material he thinks more of 
what it once was than of what it is. Even with magnifi- 
cent St. Mark's at Venice a good deal of charity is neces- 
sary to enable one to overlook the disfiguring stains that 
mar its appearance. 

There are thousands of people who have heard of the 
Baptistery doors at Florence and yet know nothing more 
about their existence. The reference to them in speaking 
of the bronze portals of our National Capitol has no doubt 
done much to cause this. The Baptistery, or Church of St. 
John the Baptist, is an octagonal, dome-covered stone struc- 
ture standing just opposite the Cathedral. It was begun 
in the sixth century and subjected to various alterations at 
different periods. It is covered with marble like the Ca- 
thedral and its three famous double doors of bronze were 



A student's views abroad. 175 

executed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They 
were designed by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberli. 
The former spent twenty-two years on the one that is from 
his hands . The door facing the Cathedral by the latter ar 
tist is universally considered the best. The designs of all 
of them are on biblical subjects. 

A short walk from the cathedral brings one to the church 
of St. Lorenzo. The facade has never been completed 
and the ragged-looking wall of ugly bricks gives no hint 
of the magnificence that is within. The main division of 
the church possesses nothing to distinguish it from the 
hundreds of other rich churches which one sees in Italy, 
but the New Sacristy and Chapel of the Princes back of the 
high altar are sights that are far from being common. The 
former contains two monuments of the Medicis by Michael 
Angelo, which are considered his best works. Beneath the 
portrait statues of the dukes are the famous pairs, Evening 
and Dawn, Night and Day. 

Adjoining the sacristy is the burial chapel of the Dukes 
of Medici. It is octagonal in form and covered with a 
dome. The walls are of marble, and produce a magnificent 
effect. Around the walls are ranged the sarcophagi 
and statues of the princes. The gorgeous decorations in 
gilt, fresco and mosaic are of a richness that could scarcely 
be surpassed. The family is said to have spent four and a 
half millions of dollars on the construction of this chapel, 
and if I may be allowed the irreverent sentiment, I think 
they showed themselves a set of fools in doing so. It is my 
conviction that the quicker a man passes respectably into 
indistinguishable dust the better it is for him. Wherefore 



176 A student's views abroad . 

should one wish to have his carcass preserved through 
hundreds of ages like the Egyptian mummies? Some im- 
pious traveler will drag you out after a thousand years to 
decorate a museum and amuse silly clowns with your grin- 
ning ghastliness. Or wherefore should one heap stone on 
stone in vain endeavor to keep his dear ashes from mixing 
with the common clay. Perhaps your fate will be a repeti- 
tion of that of Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, whose fun- 
eral urn served the louts of the middle ages as a measure 
for corn . Time has proven the falsity of Egyptian phi- 
losophy and daily proclaims in unmistakable tones that the 
main object of a man's life should not be the erection of 
his tomb. 

In the cloisters to the left of the church is situated the 
Lorenzian Library, which is the oldest and most valuable in 
Florence. I had some difficulty in finding my way through 
the passages, but finally succeeded in getting to the right 
place . After passing up a beautiful flight of steps 1 en- 
tered the door. Why is this the library! thought I; It 
looks 4ike a church. An aisle passes through the middle of 
the hall, and upon each side are seats with high backs of 
dark colored wood, which look exactly like pews. Before 
each bench is a rack which forms a part of the next seat in 
front, and upon this lie the precious manuscripts attached to 
chains . The volumes are concealed by dark cloths, so that 
there is nothing in the general appearance to distinguish the 
hall from a Protestant church. The light came dimly through 
the windows, as seemed quite appropriate. The few silent 
readers paid no attention to me, but my footfalls echoed 
harshly within the walls. As I walked along and glanced 



A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD, l77 

.at the names of the manuscripts that are registered on the 
sides of the seats, I felt a sense of awe for the ancient lore 
that is treasured in those time stained pages. Indeed I felt 
that I myself was an unwarranted intruder of our later age 
upon a field that is not of us. I half expected- to see a ton- 
sured monk rise in wrath from some dark corner and expel 
me from the sacred precincts with a malediction in ponder- 
ous Latin. But no such phantom appeared to disturb my 
meditations, yet when I again reached the busy street I 
could not help thinking that it was in truth a different age 
from that represented within the cloister's walls. 

In a narrow lane not far from the great square there is a 
house which is held in all honor. It is but a few yards 
broad and towers up to the fourth story out of all propor- 
tion to the size of its base. Notwithstanding these unfav- 
orable characteristics the town has been so much interested 
in that Httle house that she has caused it to be repaired in 
order to aid in its preservation. And well she may pay it 
such homage, for here the immortal Dante was born. It is 
too late for Florence to render full reparation to her wronged 
and exiled son. It matters little now to him or to his fame 
whether the Tuscans bow in adoration or remain as unjust 
as were their fathers. But still, as the past cannot be un- 
done, the Florentines do well to cherish his memory and 
seek to add one leaf to the laurel that is his crown. 

To the lover of literature all other places in the city dwin- 
dle into insignificance when compared to the church of 
Santa Croce. It was built in the fifteenth century but the 
facade was not completed until 3863. The marble looks 
clean and bright and gives one an idea of the beauty which 



178 

the cathedral must have had when it was new. On the 
square before the church stands Pazzi's colossal statue af 
Dante which was inaugurated May 14, 1865, the six 
hundredth anniversary of the poet's birth. 

"In Santa Croce's holy precincts lie 

Ashes which make it holier, dust which is 

Even in itself an immortality. 

Though there were nothing save the past, and this, 

The particle of those sublimities 

Which have relapsed to chaos :— here repose 

Angelo'*, Alfieri's bones, and his. 

The starry Galileo, with his woes; 

Here Macchiavelli's earth returned to whence it rose." 

Think what emotions one has when he stands by the 
great columns of the church and reads such names on the 
monuments as Michael Angelo, Alfieri, Macchiavelli and 
Galileo ! Westminister Abbey is of course a more exten- 
sive and more impressive resting place of the great than 
Santa Croce but there is no other place in Italy which de- 
serves to stand in higher honor . 



CHAPTER X. 

GENOA AND THE BIRTHPLACE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 

TURIN AND LAKE COMO. BACK IN AUSTRIA. 

TRIESTE AND ITS ENVIRONS . 



Trieste, June 7th, 1880. 

From Florence I went to Genoa, stopping at Pisa to see 
the famous leaning tower, the cathedral and the Campo 
Santo, and at Spezia to see the beautiful bay where Shelley 
was drowned. 

The envious Tuscans long ago were accustomed to say 
that Genoa had "seas without fish, mountains without trees, 
men without faith and ladies without modesty." Without 
either affirming or denying the truth of the bitter assertion, 
I am able from experience to add one more to the category 
of its wants, and hereby affirm that the city has hotels with- 
out fleas. Some five or six weeks ago I was rash 
enough to express a doubt as to whether Italy was so in- 
fested with vermin as travelers would make us believe. I 
admit that it may be possible to visit the country without 
any unpleasant experience, but to do so it is necessary to 
keep away from the streets and parks. Running as I did 
through all the narrow lanes and filthy quarters in order to 
see the various shades of native character, I soon had 
abundant proof that the tales of the travelers were not in- 



i8o 

vented. The endless herds of beggars and goats keep the 
thoroughfares of the cities fairly alive with colonies of the 
creeping or rather the jumping world. As soon as the 
foreigner appears in the streets every single flea abandons- 
the particular pauper from whom he has derived his rations 
and joins in the general stampede toward the stranger, cry-^ 
ing at the top of his voice, "fee, faw, fum, I smell the blood 
of an Englishman." It makes even the boldest turn pale 
when he hears the multitude grinding their teeth in eager 
expectation and sees them coming on in gigantic jumps, as 
closely arrayed as the armies of loafers who went to the 
Black Hills. They climb over one as quickly and readily as 
the fabled rats did in the old mouse tower on the Rhine, and 
if they do not pick one's bones as clean as the rodents did 
those of the wicked bishop, the escape should be classed 
among the unexplained facts of history. I could tell of 
personal combats as bloody, if not as glorious, as any that 
were ever fought on the plains of Troy. 

Having thus happily spent the night at Genoa, I took the 
morning train upon the railroad which runs along the coast 
toward France. The views from the cars were very pleas- 
ing, as the blue expanse of the sea was always in sight. 
At the station at Cogoleto I disembarked. The natives 
stared at me wonderingly, as it is not common for even 
American people to visit where Christopher Columbus was 
born. Cogoleto is a small fishermen's village of a few 
hundred inhabitants . It consists of one long street, which 
winds in an uncertain way along the coast and is bordered 
on both sides by houses. The beach presented the usual 
array of stranded boats and drying nets, and at the mouth 



A student's views abroad. i8 I 

o! a little creek near by the women were engaged in ham- 
mering, and rubbing and wringing the soiled linen of the vil- 
lage. After leaving the station I entered the narrow, ser- 
pentine street and soon found a house with a long inscrip- 
tion in Latin, which announced with many rhetorical flour- 
ishes that it was the birthplace of the great Columbus. The 
building has four stories, and is painted in bright colors, ac- 
cording to the custom of the country. The ground floor is 
at present occupied by a small provision store, while the 
upper stories are used as dwelling apartments. Upon ap- 
plying to the woman who stood behind the counter of the 
shop with the request to be allowed to see the house, I was 
directed by her to a stair-case leading to the second floor. 
Upon rapping at the door of the middle room I was ad- 
mitted by another woman to the apartment, in which she 
said the discoverer of the New World was born. It is an 
irregularly shaped room with rather meager furniture . A 
broken model of a ship, which stands on top of a cupboard, 
was, perhaps, constructed in honor of the immortal naviga- 
tor. After passing through several rooms, which exhibited 
all the disorder of a slovenly house on Monday, I reached a 
sort of a terrace upon the side next to the sea. The few 
flowers along the railing made it the pleasantest place I had 
seen in the building. The village is small and the house is 
mean, but there lies the illimitable sea, whose inexhaustable 
treasure of wonders was sufficent to awaken the genius of 
Columbus and make him long to see the great world, which 
lay beyond the blue line of the horizon. Genoa has 
erected a large monument to the memory of the great dis- 
coverer, and I think it would be well if American cities 
would follow its example. 



lS2 

After returning to Genoa I took the afternoon train to 
Turin. The first part of the journey was through the 
mountains, so that I enjoyed a number of beautiful views. 
Just before reaching Alexandria the plain at Marengo could 
be seen, where Napoleon won his hard-fought battle eighty 
years ago. The remaining portion of the ride was dusty 
and disagreeable, and I saw thatl had escaped one evil by the 
rainy weather which had hitherto followed me . 

The city of Turin is, perhaps, the only one in Europe 
built perfectly regular. I have not seen any place yet on 
the continent which is so thoroughly American in its appear- 
ance. The streets are broad and the more important ones 
are traversed by horse cars. The houses have a pleasing ex- 
terior, beggars are scarce, and the hack-drivers are quite 
subdued in spirits Yet for all this, Turin is not a modern 
city. Her plan is said to be essentially the same as that of 
the colony which was established there by Augustus. 

The principal street is a very .fine avenue extending 
from the mediaeval castle to the banks of the Po. The 
buildings on either side are provided with arcades, like 
those of Bologna, but they are far grander than their model. 
I wonder that this style of architecture which is so convenient 
for business is not more universally adopted. At the ex- 
tremity of this main street is an exterior square and mag- 
nificent bridge over the river. Immediately beyond is a 
church in imitation of the Pantheon. To the right 
stands a hill surmounted by a monastery, from which a 
splendid view of the city is obtained. To the left far in the 
distance, rises a loftier peak, which is crowned by the burial 
chapel of the house of Savoy. 



i83 

I made the usual round of the sights at Turin. I visited 
the museums, churches and monuments and saw a few 
things that I remember and thousands of others which I 
have forgotten . 

There is no other feature so marked in Turin as the num- 
ber of her pubHc statues. Nearly every street of impor- 
tance is adorned with one, and when seen from a distance 
through the long rows of houses they have a very impres- 
sive effect . Many of the monuments are no doubt insig- 
nificant as works of art, and some of the subjects have a 
mere local importance, but there could be no worthier way 
of ornamenting the city. There is a bit of romance con- 
nected with one of these statues which deserves to be re- 
corded. It represents but a common soldier yet he proved 
himself an uncommon man. On the 30th of August, 1706, 
the citadel of Turin was hard pressed by the French invaders. 
The hostile grenadiers had successfully advanced to the very 
gates, where the private Pietro Micca sprung a mine and 
perished with the enemy, but saved his country . The 
statue represents him stepping forward at the critical mo- 
ment torch in hand. His fist is clenched, his face is firmly 
fixed and his eyes seem to fairly burn with the intense en- 
thusiasm which led to his sacrifice. The cautious policy of 
our everyday life tends to imbue us with a selfish cowardice, 
but it is all in vain. Some hero arises and shows us how 
one can forget his individual passions when animated by a 
great mission. His deed quickens our sluggish pulses, 
we forget our cold calculations on advantage and disadvan- 
tage, and our irrestrainable admiration testifies that we are 
better than we think. The citizens of Turin have never 



1% 

forgotten hiniy whom they affectionately call the "Soldier 
Miner," and a century and a half after he had perished 
their gratitude was stiE so strong that a monument was 
erected to his memory. 

I left Turin by the early morning train for Milan. The 
country, through which we passed, is flat but very fertile. 
The farmers were engaged in cutting hay and the fields 
were very fragrant, A pleasant breeze neutralized the unus- 
ual heat of the sun and wafted about the agreeable odors of 
the freshly mown meadows. The discomforts of railway 
traveling were so completely avoided that the journey 
seemed more like a carriage ride through the smiling fields. 

We passed a great many rice farms during the morning. 
This is the season when they are kept under water to the 
depth of about half a foot. We saw hundreds of acres 
that were thus submerged. Of course this is only possible 
in the valleys along the rivers. The fields are intersected 
in all directions by a net work of dams by means of which 
the water is evenly disposed of and a constant current main- 
tained. 

The only place of historical interest along the line between 
Turin and Milan is the battle-field of Magenta, where the 
French and Italians defeated the Austrian s June 4th, 1859. 
The snowy peaks of the distant Alps were visible during a 
considerable part of the journey, but they seemed like a long 
white cloud as the fog hid their bases from sight. 

Milan, "the grand," at once impresses the stranger with 
its prosperity. There is little to remind one of the characteris- 
tics which the traveler thinks of as peculiar to Italian cities. 
The people look as clean, as well dressed and as wide awake 



A student's views abroad. 185 

as in any of the other towns of Europe. The streets are as 
crooked as they could well be if that had been the design 
of their builders, but in spite of this misfortune the long 
rows of magnificent buildings, do not fail to have a pleasing 
effect. 

The Milanese consider their cathedral the eighth wonder 
of the world. It is the third largest church in Europe, St. 
Peter's at Rome and the cathedral at Seville ranking first 
and second. The exterior is adorned with about two 
thousand statues in marble, which give the building an ap- 
pearance peculiar to itself. Many of these have a merit 
which is more than mediocre, for such masters as Canova 
have contributed to the number. When one thinks of the 
time and labor which were necessary in preparing these or- 
naments, he will be able to form some idea of the vastness 
of the undertaking. Whether the immense structure be 
viewed from the square below or from the roof and tower 
above, it alike impresses the beholder with its grandeur. 
Should the visitor undertake to examine the details, weari- 
ness will at length force him to desist and acknowledge that 
this is indeed one of the wonders of the world. The in- 
terior is in keeping with the magnificence and greatness of 
the exterior and even the fact that one has seen St. Peter's 
does not lessen the awe that he feels when standing under 
the lofty arches which lie so far above him. 

There are a number of other churches in the city which 
present something of interest. A few of them are the only 
existing remains of the old town which was destroyed by 
Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The refectory of the sup- 
pressed monastery near the church Santa Maria delle Grazie 



1 86 A student's views abroad. 

attracts the most visitors, as it contains Leonardo da Vinci's 
world famous fresco of the Last Supper. The picture is 
so badly preserved that it conveys little more than a general 
outline of the figures, each of which has a strongly marked 
individuality. The details of the faces have so completely 
faded away that the copyists draw largely on their imagina- 
tions in painting the picture. The consequence is that the 
expressions of the countenances on the copies rarely agree . 
But notwithstanding these drawbacks, the fresco is a very 
popular subject for reproduction among the artists and at the 
time of my visit I counted ten full copies and four or five of 
the head of Jesus. 

At the north-western verge of the city stands the beauti- 
ful Arch of Peace a fine imitation of the old Roman struc- 
tures of similar character. It was begun by Napoleon in 
1804, as a termination to the Simplon road across the Alps, 
but long before it was finished, the Emperor had lost his 
throne. The decorations were then altered and the arch 
was dedicated to Emperor Francis of Austria. This change 
reminds one of the fate of the columns of Trajan and Mar- 
cus Aurelius at Rome which were purified of their heathen 
uncleanness by the popes and are now surmounted by stat- 
ues of Saints Peter and Paul. 

I left Milan by the north bound evening train and after a 
half hour's ride arrived at Monza. I went at once to the 
cathedral which contains the famous iron crown which was 
used at the coronation of thirty-four Lombard kings and in 
later times on similar occasions by Charles the Fifth and 
Emperor Napoleon. "It consists of a broad hoop of gold 
adorned with precious stones, round the interior of which is 



i87 

a thin strip of iron, made from a nail of the true cross 
brought by the Empress Helena from Palestine." On the 
walls of the chapel in the church which contains this inter- 
esting relic Napoleon, Ferdinand I. of Austria and Victor 
Emmanuel have erected tablets to commemorate their cor- 
onation. 

The following morning I resumed my journey northward 
and arrived at Como in time for the early boat on the lake. 
I took a ticket for Bellaggio which is situated at the junction 
of Lake Lecco with Como and is considered the finest pomt 
in regard to scenery. 

The scenery on Lake Como is considered the most beauti- 
ful in Italy and has been a favorite theme of the poets from 
Virgil to Bulwer. The expanse of water is scarcely broad- 
er than a river and its general appearance reminds one of 
the Rhine. The hills here assume the size of mountains 
whose summits are often barren wastes, and the bright col- 
ored villas take the place of the moss grown castles which 
border the German stream. Instead of the northern vine- 
yards one sees here groves of the dark green walnut and 
chestnut, sprinkled with the gray tinted olive. 

At Bellaggio I found a goodly number of foreigners and 
a long church procession in ecclesiastical tinsel. I walked 
over the hill and obtained a splendid view of Lake Lecco, 
which I thought little inferior to her more extensive rival. 

On returning to Milan from Lake Como, I embarked at 
noon upon the through express train for Venice. If I had 
been beginning my tour of Italy, I would have at least stop- 
ped at Brescia, but I was sated with the sights which the 
smaller towns afford and so concluded to make no further 



i88 

halts . When I first entered the carriage I found two young 
Englishmen who had come over the Simplon from Geneya 
for a few days' look at Northern Italy. Several minutes 
later four American young ladies came and took the remain- 
ing portion of the apartment. 

The country intersected by the railroad is a fertile plain, 
with Httle to interest the observer. In the distance to the 
north the Alps were visible, but otherwise the scenery was 
quite monotonous. The Englishman, who sat next to me, 
borrowed my guide book and loaned me the latest copy of 
the London Telegraph. As I had not read a newspaper 
since I had left Florence, I was soon so absorbed in the tele- 
grams and leaders of the daily that I neglected the land- 
scape altogether. The time passed rapidly, and I was com- 
pletely surprised when the train emerged from a tunnel and 
the beautiful Lake Garda was revealed to us with the bright 
green mountains which surround it. Toward the south we 
could see the gently rising hills where the French and Ital- 
ians won the bloody battle of Solferino over the Austrians, 
June 24th, 3859. 

Finally, when the sun was low in the western sky, the 
spires of Venice appeared in the distance amid the blue 
waters of the Adriatic. Not every one experiences the same 
satisfaction in the half ruined palaces and stagnant canals of 
Venice, and many have the image which the poets have 
created in their minds rudely shattered by some of the un- 
expected features of the reality. On the wharf before the 
depot one hears many exclaim in disappointment : " Is that 
the grand canal ! " There is an element of the disagreeable 
in everything, and the traveler who leaves his imagination at 



home, will find little pleasure in viewing even the grandest 
spots on earth. 

I paid another visit to St, Mark's in the evening, and early 
the following morning went to the church of the Frari, at the 
opposite end of the city, which contains two tombs that com- 
mand general attention. In the left aisle is the monument 
of the famous Canova, which was erected from a de- 
sign whic h he himself had made for a mausoleum for 
Titian. It consists of a pyramidal vault of marble, with 
bronze doors which stand slightly ajar. A veiled figure is 
represented as about to enter, and is followed by a group 
with inverted torches. The design is quite unique and 
forms a pleasing change from the everlastingly recurring 
style, which consists of a large sarcophagus with a sitting 
female figure at each side, who stares steadily at nothing. 
In the opposite aisle of the church is the monument of 
Titian, which is surmounted by a statue of the master. 

Later m the morning I took the train for Trieste which 
brought my Italian tour to an end. Near Cormons we cross- 
ed the frontier into the Empire of Austria and stopped at 
that station for the custom house inspection . The officer 
passed my knapsack without asking me to open it and I 
made haste to shake off the last reminiscence of Italy by 
getting rid of the paper money which I had on hand. 
While I am speaking of this subject, I will make a few ex- 
planations. One never sees silver or gold coin in circulation 
in Italy. They use paper notes for sums above half a franc 
(ten cents) and for anything less, copper is the medium of 
exchange. On account of the petty system of giving small 
donations for every service which is the custom of Italy, the 



traveler is compelled to carry a mass of copper which is 
heavier than is convenient. If one does not give a nickel 
in America, he gives nothing, but a cent in the eyes of the 
ofBcious Italians of the lower class is not a sum to be de- 
spised. In Naples the changing of small amounts is a reg- 
ular trade and at every corner of the business quarter one 
sees the petty bankers with their heaps of copper. 

Italy, with Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece and a few 
smaller States, belongs to a money union which has adopted 
the French system . This fact gives grounds for the hope 
that the civilized world may one day have a common coin- 
age, just as it is confidently expected that weights and meas- 
ures will attain the same simplicity. It would be no insig- 
nificant triumph of trade if the money stamped by one nation 
could circulate the world over, and thus abolish the incon- 
venient systems of exchange which now embarrass the 
transactions of .commerce. 

Trieste has a beautiful situation on a large gulf, which is 
formed by an amphitheatre of hills. The scenery is inferior 
to that at Ancona, Naples, Spezia or Genoa, but one can by 
no means consider it insignificant, even after having seen 
those places. Charles the Sixth declared the city a free port 
in 1 7 19, and she at present carries on a heavy trade with all 
parts of the world, and especially with the Orient. Fifteen 
thousand vessels enter and leave the haven annually, which 
shows that she merits her title of the " Southern Hamburg. " 
It is the intention of the government to abolish the privi- 
leges of Trieste as a free port in 1882. Of course this will 
cause many articles to become dearer in the city, but it is 
argued that a great many manufacturing establishments will 



locate here, and thus compensate for all losses. As every- 
thing which passes into the interior is now subject to the 
same duties as foreign articles, this has effectually prevent- 
ed the opening of such industries in the city. 

The inhabitants of Trieste are almost as heterogeneous 
as those of Alexandria, Egypt. The Italian element is the 
most extensive, but German is spoken also by the majority 
of the tradesmen. Among the foreign nations represented 
here more or less are the Greeks, Armenians, English and 
Americans. In addition to these there are many transient 
visitors from all parts of the Orient. One sees some quaint 
costumes in the streets. The most common of these con- 
sists of a fez, short jacket, broad Turkish knee-trousers, 
white stockings and high shoes. Among the rarer Orient- 
als are a few Turks whose long red robes and turbans make 
them look as though they had just arrived from the Golden 
Horn . The Greeks and Servians have each a magnificent 
church, and one frequently meets their priests, with their 
long black robes and tall rimless hats. I went last evening 
to the Greek church to hear the chants m the native tongue. 
The officiating priest was a mysterious looking person, to 
whom the masses might quite naturally ascribe a knowledge 
of the invisible things. 

There are a number of handsome new buildings in the city, 
and one of the finest of these is the Town Hall, which also 
contains the room used by the Landtag, or Provincial As- 
sembly for Istria. As all the seventeen Legislatures of the 
empire were opened yesterday, after a recess of a year and 
a half, I went to the hall to witness the ceremony that took 
place there. The honorable members who were dressed in 



192 

silk hats and broadcloth, pushed their way through the ad- 
miring crowds of small boys and loafers, and ascended the 
grand staircase, while the sentinels and liveried lackies made 
their salutes with all due deference to the great dignities . 
We who represented no constituencies, climbed the small 
back stairway without ceremony and found places in the gal- 
lery. The Assembly chamber is elegantly finished, although 
of somewhat small proportions. At eleven o'clock the 
thirty-six members arose in their places to welcome the im- 
perial Statthalter, or Governor of the Province, who enter- 
ed in full mihtary dress, and took his seat on a small plat- 
form to the left of the Speaker's desk. The Landeshaupt- 
mann then took the chair and delivered an address in sonor- 
ous Italian. I could not understand the speech, but he laid 
his hand several times on his heart and looked toward the 
ceihng, and I felt much moved. After three cheers (a hoch) 
for the Emperor, the Governor made a brief response, bow- 
ed and looked infinitely gracious, and the Assembly ad- 
journed. 

A brief stay at Trieste is sufEcent to show that the ma- 
jority of the steamers which enter and leave the port, be- 
long to the Austrian Lloyd Company. Their vessels ply to 
all points of Eastern Italy, Dalmatia, Greece, Turkey, Asia 
Minor, Palestine, Egypt and India. Much of the wealth of 
the East thus flows to Trieste, and vast additions are now 
being made to her harbor. The Lloyd Company owns 
many buildmgs in the city, but the docks where the vessels 
are built and repaired are about three miles from here, near 
the village of Servola. A finely shaded road leads thither 
and enabled me to visit them yesterday, even during the 



A student's views abroad. 193 

midday heat. The shops, of course, contain many wonder- 
ful machines, by which iron is shaped and cut hke wax, but 
I think the men there would be somewhat surprised if they 
could spend a few hours in such gigantic American estab- 
lishments as one finds at Springfield and similar places. The 
Europeans may laugh at our follies and twit us for our 
pompous ignorance, but they have had to cross the Atlantic 
to learn how human toil can be lessened in more ways than 
one. There were some twelve or fifteen steamers under- 
going repairs at the Lloyd docks, and the guide told me that 
the company owned seventy-seven vessels, and the number 
was being constantly increased. Upon m}/ asking if the 
laborers were all Italians, they said that they had some of 
every nation except the French. I thought I would test his 
statement and asked him if they had any Americans. He 
answered that they had one, a machinist, but he was away 
with a steamer. 

On one of the principal squares of Trieste there is an ad- 
mirable statue of the ill-fated Emperor Maximilian of Mex- 
ico. Before he set out on his fatal expedition to America he 
was a Rear Admiral in the Austrian navy, and lived for a 
long time in this city. About six miles toward the north, 
on Point Grignana, which projects into the sea, stands Pal- 
ace Miramar, which was once the Prince's home, and is now 
considered the most delightful spot in the vicinity of Trieste. 
I walked out there this morning, and left amply repaid for 
the exertion. 

The palace is built of the limestone which is quarried in 
endless quantities in the neighborhood, and looks as fresh 
and beautiful as if it had been finished yesterday. It stands 



194 

at the water's edge, and the broad stone terrace next to the 
sea commands a fine view of the city and gulf. Everything 
is fitted up in princely magnificence. The park abounds in 
shaded walks and quiet retreats. Fountains play unceas- 
ingly, cooling the air and soothing the senses with the bab- 
bling of the falling streams. Statues end the vistas of the 
long-ivied arbors; sweet-smelling flowers fill the air with 
fragrant odors, and rare plants from many climes attract 
the eye and engage the mind. What a world of beauty! 
What a realization of the paradise of which we dream ! 



CHAPTER XI. 



A TRAMP OF THREE HUNDRED MILES IN THE AUSTRIAN 

MOUNTAINS. — THE ADELSBERG CAVES. GRATZ. OVER 

THE SEMMERING PASS. VIENNA. 

I 



Vienna, June 29th, 1880. 

I have long talked about the great foot journeys which I 
was going to make, but they have always been so far in the 
future, that my friends have perhaps come to doubt whether 
the plans would ever be fulfilled. Under these circum- 
stances I felt that I must try a tramp from Trieste north- 
ward in order to vindicate my ability to walk. A person, 
who has ever boasted of his bravery, is forced by his pride 
to make as good a show of spirit as possible when circum- 
stances put him to the test . Perhaps a little of this feeling 
assisted me in mustering up my courage to encounter the 
fatigues of a foot journey through the mountains . Be that 
as it may, I shouldered my knapsack last Thursday morning 
and started to find the road from Trieste towards Vienna. I 
chose a turnpike which crosses the railroad at Divazza, 
about twelve miles out, so that I could take the train if my 
spirit failed me. 

As I proceeded I came to the dreary limestone wilder- 
ness of the Karst which stretches across the provmce of 
Istria from Gorizia to Fiume. Until late in the afternoon mv 



196 

path was through this desolate region. White crag rises 
over crag and deep, rough sided fissures everywhere 
abound. A meager growth of grass among the rocks and a 
few fertile spots in the valleys are all the inroads which the 
vegetable world has been able to make in the stony desert 
during the ages of time. 

From the summit of the hills I had a beautiful farewell 
look at the blue Adriatic and the city of Trieste. The bay 
was dotted with sails and the waters were gleaming in the 
morning sun. Railroads are of inexpressible convenience 
but they have robbed us of much that is agreeable. The 
dusty tourist of to-day sees little of the country he passes . 
He never experiences that exultant feeling with which the 
weary pilgrims of the highway behold the distant sea from 
the mountain tops. I met a Bohemian "Handwerker" in 
Trieste who told me of the joyful surprise he had when the 
blue gulf suddenly came in sight as he reached the summit 
of the hills. I must confess I envied him. I have seen 
many seas and lakes and the Atlantic, but the circumstances 
of the first view were never pleasant enough to leave a last- 
ing impression. I would willingly exchange all the pleasure 
I felt at arriving at a sea by a railroad for a share of the rap- 
ture with which Xenophon's ten thousand were thrilled when 
the Euxine appeared in sight. 

My knapsack rested uneasily on my shoulders and 1 often 
stopped to rest, while the troops of brown faced market 
women strode b}^ with huge baskets on their heads, exhibit- 
ing no signs of fatigue . Americans may think that I ought 
to have felt some shame at being surpassed so easily by fe- 
male pedestrains, but the brawny peasant women of Europe 



A student's views abroad, 197 

may well dispute the assertion that they are the weaker sex. 
I certainly would not venture to enter the lists against them 
to maintain the superior strength of the masculine portion of 
the human race . The market women walk sometimes ten 
or twelve miles to Trieste with a great load of vegetables or 
fruit and return the same morning. The farmer's wife and 
daughters work in the fields and accomplish as much and as 
severe labor as men. If it were yet the fashion for lovers 
to carry off their brides by main force I suppose an unwel- 
come suitor could be as easily repelled by the stout maidens in 
a conflict of muscle as they are by the gentler means of the 
present. 

At noon I reached Divazza and while enjoying my dinner 
in the open air before a country inn, I concluded that my 
courage was not exhausted and that I would continue my 
tramp still farther. The Italian language is here superced- 
ed by a dialect of the Slavonic. Later in the afternoon I 
found a solitary laborer by the roadside who answered my 
German greeting in the same tongue. The dreary Karst 
had evidently made him hungry for companionship and he 
immediately began to enter into a long conversation with me 
by inquiring where I had come from, where I was going 
and what profession I had , After he had been enlightened 
on these points he wanted to know if I spoke Krainerish I 
assured him that I did not speak Krainensh and might have 
added that I did not speak Cherokee, or Choctaw, or Mo- 
doc. If I learn a few civilized languages, I shall do well and 
do not care to meddle with any of the barbarous dialects of 
out-of-the-way people. 

Toward evening I entered a beautiful valley bordered 



rp^ A student's views abroad, 

with pine covered hills, and walking became more interest- 
ing although I was very tired. At Prewald I passed the 
lofty peak of Nanos, which is frequently scaled by pleasure 
seekers. I was too weary to feel any desire for such an un- 
dertaking and continued my journey. At nine o'clock I 
reached a village with the name of Hrasce which indicates 
the language of the people. I sought lodgings in four inns 
in vain and at the fifth and last was told that they had no 
rooms. I sat sometime there being too exhausted to think of 
the unpleasant state of affairs. Finally one of the servants 
interceded in my behalf and the inhospitable landlord ex- 
plained that they were not allowed to take in strangers 
without a passport. I quickly informed the suspicious wretch 
that I had the necessary article, and a room was immediately 
found, although he had solemnly and repeatedly assured me 
previously that there was none in the house. This is the 
first time I have used my passport except to identify my- 
self at the banks. I made twenty five miles during the 
day which will do for a beginning with fourteen pounds of 
baggage. 

The next morning I walked six miles farther to Adelsberg 
where the famous limestone caves are situated. The\^ were 
known in the middle ages, but it was only in 1816 that it 
was discovered that they were very large. Having paid 
the fee at the ticket office and procured two guides, I walk- 
ed to the entrance which is three quarters of a mile from 
the town. A well shaded path leads thither and the open- 
ing is closed by a neat iron gate. The caves are controlled 
by the government and the affairs are administered to the 
satisfaction of everybody. Smooth, solid walks have been 



199 

made throughout the entire length of the grottoes and 
strong railings placed wherever a fall of a few feet could 
be possible. 

Just below the opening to the grottoes the river Poik 
plunges into the very heart of the mountain and continues 
its subterranean course for several miles. In the next val- 
ley it emerges and then after passing through another range 
of mountains in the same way, it reappears in the plain be- 
yond. In my subsequent journey I saw both of these por- 
tions of the stream. Such strange phenomena are not un- 
frequent in this country. 

The river appears in the cave a short distance from the 
entrance and after that it is entirely concealed. After the 
guides had prepared the lights we started in, the roar of the 
stream growing gradually louder until we reached the 
"dome," where the water is crossed by two natural and one 
artificial bridge. This is che most sublime part of the 
grottoes. The eye can scarcely distinguish the vaulting far 
overhead, and from the impenetrable darkness below comes 
the unceasing sound of the flowing stream. There is enough 
of the terrible in the place to fill one with awe as well 
as wonder. Farther on the fantastic formations of the 
stalactites and stalagmites began to be seen. There are 
many beautiful columns of marvelous whiteness. Some 
have a massive size while others are as frail as glass. Man 
has found shapes sculptured in the limestone here which re- 
semble a hundred different objects in the upper world. 
There are trees, flowers, and plants ; there are animals 
from the lion to the tortoise ; there are banners and curtains, 
pulpits and thrones, sarcophagi and cemeteries. Indeed 



200 

there seems to be no end to the fantastic variations which 
are assumed by the rock. 

One large chamber with a lofty dome is used on Pfingst- 
montag as a dancing hall. Hundreds and hundreds of 
candles are employed on that day in lighting the grottoes 
and thousands of people assemble from far and near to 
witness the magnificent spectacle. 

The guide said that the entire distance which we walked 
was five English miles. We were between two and three 
hours in accomplishing the trip. As at the Mammoth Cave 
white, blind fish and insects are found far from the light of 
day. 

After seeing the grottoes I again set out to continue my 
walk northward. The dreary limestone wastes disap- 
peared and the scenery became more beautiful as I ad- 
vanced. Green, pine covered hills and broad, fertile valleys 
followed one another in constant succession, affording a 
constant amusement for the mind and relieving the w^eari- 
ness of the walk. I stopped at a toll house in the afternoon 
to get a glass of water and the keeper, according to the 
custom of the people, at once asked me of what country I 
was. After I had satisfied his curiosity, he said that Amer- 
icans came very seldom along that road, with which obser- 
vation I readily agreed. These are the first tdll gates 
which I have seen in Europe. 

At dark I arrived at Loitsch thoroughly tired in every 
limb. I visited all the inns but could not find a bed any- 
where. They seemed to have only one apiece and I came 
too late to secure that. In desperation I went back the 
second time to one landlord, who appeared more gracious 



A student's views abroad. 20I 

than the others, and begged him to fix a place for me in 
some way. He accordingly made a couch upon a bench 
and some chairs in the public room and upon these I man- 
aged to spend the night. I would have appreciated his 
kindness much more if there had been a few less fleas in 
the blankets. 

Tcontinued my tramp the next morning until nearly noon 
when it began to rain and I improved the time by visiting 
a shoe shop at Ober Laibach for repairs . I found that the 
master workman could speak German and he began a long 
conversation with me by asking where I had come -from. 
Nothing could exceed his astonishment when he learned that 
I was from America. His brother had emigrated to New 
York and died there and he was naturally much interested 
in the country. There seemed to be no end to his questions 
about the trade and customs in our land* and when Heft him 
he heaped well wishes upon me as only Germans are able 
to do. 

Late in the afternoon I came to the plains of Laibach and 
soon reached the city which is beautifully situated at the foot 
of a range of hills. Toward the northwest the snow clad 
peaks of the Julian Alps stand out prominently against the 
sky, while upon every other side mountains of lesser height 
limit the distant view. Laibach has about 23,000 inhabit- 
ants and abounds in fine parks and promenades. The prin- 
cipal square is well shaded and is called Congress Platz, to 
commemorate the asssembly which was held in the city from 
January to May, 182 1, to take measures against the insurrec- 
tion in Naples . On one side of the square is a large bronze 
bust of Fieldmarshal Count Radetzky, who once owned 



202 

the palace Tiv^oli near the city which is now one of the most 
popular places of resort in the neighborhood. I was sitting 
near the statue watching the easy good nature with which 
the people of all classes enjoyed themselves together when 
an elderly gentleman came and took a seat -beside me and 
without much effort opened a conversation. When he heard 
that I was on a tramp, he related some of his own exper- 
iences years ago before the days of steamboats and rail- 
roads. After a pleasant chat he showed me the post-ofRce 
and gave me some other information in the most accom- 
modating manner possible. This almost universal social 
and obliging spirit makes the Germans so beloved by stran- 
gers. 

After parting with my newly made acquaintance 1 set out 
to walk a few more miles and shortly after dark stopped for 
the night at the village of Jeschzaon the banks of the Save. 
After a fruitless search for a bed I was compelled to be con- 
tent with a couch on a bench similar to the one of the pre- 
vious night. The points of resemblance were but too well 
carried out, for the fleas were as numerous as the beggars in 
Venice . But this was not all, for the topers were noisy 
over their beer and their pipes smoked like the funnel of a 
steamship. After they had finally departed I was just about 
to go to sleep when two gendarmes came in to get a drink 
and see what guests th^re were in the house. I was too 
drowsy to notice whether they tried to read my passport or 
not, but if they did it is not probable that their puzzled minds 
got any farther than the picture of Liberty and the eagle . 
The gleaming bayonets and shining barrels of there mus- 
kets were the formidable appearances which followed me in- 
to the land of dreams. 



203 

The next morning I crossed the Save, which seemed about 
the same size as the Danube at Ulm. At noon I stopped 
for dmner at an inn at Lukovitz . The landlord asked me 
where I came from, where I was going and what business I 
had. When I told him the name of my native land, he ex- 
claimed in utter disbelief : " What would an American want 
in this poor county, when everything goes better over there?" 
I finally succeeded in convincing him of the truth of my state- 
ment and he then regarded me as a sort of wonder. 

In the afternoon I entered deeper into the mountains. To- 
ward evening I came suddenly to the summit of the water- 
shed between the Sann and the western streams and was 
surprised by a magnificent view of a beautiful green valley 
enclosed by a circle of hills . The pleasure of the moment 
was so great that I felt that pedestrianism deserved all the 
praises it has received, although at some other moments I 
had doubted the fact. 

After the usual preliminary search for a place to sleep in 
the evening, I was once more obliged to take my chances 
for the night's rest upon a bench. Fortunately but one flea and 
one bummer put in an appearance and neither of them was ac- 
tive enough to keep me awake after having walked twenty- 
six miles during the day. The next morning I entered the val- 
ley of the Sann and in the afternoon passed through Cilli, an 
active little town commanded by a picturesque ruin . My 
course led next northward and I was again in the midst of 
the mountains when I was overtaken by rain and darkness . 
As I turned a curve in the road, I saw a company of men 
approaching in the distance. The foremost one wore a long 
mantle, knee-trousers, and sandals and had his feet and 



204 A student's views abroad. 

ankles swathed. I recognized the outfit at once and concl uded 
to air my stock of Italian by greeting the strolling musicians 
in their native tongue. Accordingly I wished them a "buon 
giorno, " to which they replied m a similar way, being over- 
joyed to hear their own language. If the conversation had 
gone no farther than this I would have come off in good 
style, but they immediately began to ask me about the road 
in Italian and it is needless to add I was swamped in a 
moment. 

That night I slept on a bench with nothing but a little sack 
of straw to relieve the hardness of the boards. The next 
morning while continuing my tramp, I met a little girl, who 
muttered something in her Slavonie dialect, came and kissed 
my hand and then passed on without another word. This 
is an unusual experience for a republican and it occupied my 
mind for some time afterwards. She could not have thought 
that I was a prince, for my clothes showed unmistakable 
signs of pedestrianism . Nor could she have supposed that 
I was a clerical dignity, since those reverend gentlemen do not 
run around the country with knapsacks on their backs and 
their trousers turned up. So it must be forever a mystery 
to me whether that little Styrian peasant girl took me for a 
pope or a king. 

At noon I dined at a little country inn far from the influ- 
ences of civilization. After dinner the landlady be- 
gan to catechise me as usual and was immensely aston- 
ished when she heard of my native land. I amused myself 
and startled her by relating a few of the wonderful things 
of the country across the sea. It has been one of my 
recreations during my tramp to find some landlady who does 



A student's views abroad. 205 

not know German well enough to notice my mistakes, and 
whose meager amount of schooling has been supplemented 
by a miscellaneous mass of misinformation derived from 
stray vagabonds, and then set myself up as a sort of oracle 
from an unknown clime and tell long accounts of America 
amid boundless applause from my ignorant hearers. This 
particular woman asked me if our continent was not toward 
the mormng sun. After I had told her the nearest way was 
toward the west (evening sun,) she wanted to know how 
long it would take to go there afoot. I then revealed the 
fact that there is a great ocean in the world, to which she 
listened with unfeigned surprise . 

That night I found a decent inn which pleased me so 
much that I staid over the next day in order to rest. The 
following morning I set off much refreshed and at nine 
o'clock crossed the broad Drave and entered Marburg, a 
market town of considerable size. In the afternoon I reach- 
ed the valley of Mur, in which I afterwards walked 
many miles. At night I had a serious time in finding a place 
to sleep. One landlord offered me a place in his barn which 
I refused . Another, at ten o'clock in the evening, said it 
was too late and shut the door in my face. I had given up 
in despair when I found a good inn and soon forgot my 
troubles. 

This experience made me disgusted with tramping but 
the next morning I visited an old ruined castle near Wildon 
and my dislike was moderated. From the tower the famous 
astronomer, Tycho Brahe, made many of his observations. 

Gratz, the capital of Styria, lies on both banks of the 
river Mur in the midst of a plain of considerable size. 



2o6 A student's views abroad. 

The mountains rise in every direction a few miles from the 
city and afford an unlimited field for pleasure seekers. In 
the center of the town stands a solitary peak, called the cas- 
tle hill, which was once strongly fortified and undoubtedly 
led to the foundation of Gratz. The Austrian Major 
Hacker with 500 men successfully repelled the attempt of 
Macdonald with 3000 French troops to take the stronghold 
during the Napoleonic wars. After the treaty of 1808 the 
walls of the fortification were destroyed and some years later 
the hill was covered with a net work of paths and the sum- 
mit turned into a miniature park . It is nearly four hund- 
red feet high and the prospect is such as one rarely sees. 
The view embraces the well cultivated valley intersected by 
the Mur and the varied array of mountains which form the 
most distant resting place of the eye. 

Gratz was formerly one of the cheapest places to live in 
Europe, but the secret got out and the people now complain 
that the prices are as high as anywhere else. The city has 
long been a favorite retiring place for pensioned military 
and civil officers, so that quite a colony of veterans 
has been formed. The town has some beautiful parks, sev- 
eral statues, a bust of Schiller and a few interesting old build- 
ings. Without being particularly remarkable either in the 
light of history or art, Gratz produces an agreeable im- 
pression on the stranger, and leads him to regard it as a 
pleasant place for study or rest. 

My plans only allowed me a day in the city and so I set 
off again toward evening with my knapsack on my back. 
My pedestrian efforts in Krain and Southern Styria had in- 
deed been attended with much that was very disagreeable, 



A student's views abroad. 207 

but for all that I was glad when I was again in the open 
country. I walked steadily along until I reached the place 
where the valley became narrow and the scenery seemed 
much like the Rhine. Just beyond the picturesque ruin of 
castle Goesting I sat down on a stone pile to rest and enjoy 
the romantic view. While I was reading a few pages from 
one of Goethe's dramas a peasant came along and began a 
conversation with me, which was fortunately possible, as 
the people from Gratz northward are all German. He sup- 
posed I was a student, and stopped to warn me that the 
solitary place was somewhat dangerous and said that a man 
had been shot at four times a few weeks previous while 
passing. European assassins, as is well known, are poor 
marksmen, but I concluded to move on. The valley became 
narrower and the scenery was very imposing. At one 
place it was necessary to run the railroad for some distance 
under the highway, as the space between the cHff and 
the stream is insufficient for both. 

A little before dark I drew near the village of Kirchen- 
viertl, where extensive paper mills are located. I found the 
inns north of Gratz much better than those farther south. 
The character of the landlords, however, was subject to 
many variations. Those I met during my tramp were in 
general either contemptably servile or as inhospitable as 
brutes. One would shut the door in my face while another 
would treat me as though I owned him, body and soul. The 
Austrian newspapers display considerable independence of 
spirit, but the lower classes have an awe for the titled land 
owners, such as cannot be conceived of by the self-respect- 
ing laborers of America. 



2o8 A student's views abroad. 

During the next day after leaving Kirchenviertl I visited 
the ruined castle Pfanberg, which stands on a wooded peak 
near Frohnleiten . It is rarely touched by pleasure seekers 
and the wild vegetation grows on undisturbed. It was 
once a strong fortress with double walls upon the verge of 
artificially hewn precipices, but large trees now stand among 
the battlements and the forest birds build their nests without 
fear in the long deserted towers. I climbed over heaps of 
loose rubbish, peered into dark vaults and wandered through 
the ruined halls trying to call up in fancy the mailed knights 
and fair ladies of the dim past. But the frescoes in the 
chapel are sadly faded ; the ancestral tombstones lie in 
scattered fragments, and the rank weeds grow in the court 
where the warrior said his farewells ere he went forth to 
battle. The current of life has gone down into the valleys 
and the ruined castles stand like abandoned wrecks of other 
years. 

The two following days proved so stormy that I was com- 
pelled to spend most of the time in reading at the country 
inns. The villages of lower Austria are in general much 
cleaner and more pleasing than those of Germany. The 
majority of the houses have roofs of thatched straw and 
some have rude religious paintings on the front wall. Every 
village has a public shrine at the wayside with an image of 
Jesus on the cross, the Virgin Mary, or something similar. 
The greater part of these are horribly executed, as they are 
undoubtedly of local workmanship. We think of Christ as 
having been a perfect example of normal physical develop- 
ment, but the provincial image makers give him a wasted, 
mishapen form such as would only be fitting for one who 
has been consumed by age and all manner of disease. 



A student's views abroad. 209 

In addition to the frescoes of the house fronts the pictorial 
art manifests itself in the signs of the stores. Whether the 
people are unable to read or not I do not know, but the 
merchants everywhere hang out paintings representing the 
articles they sell instead of enumerating them in printed 
characters. The inns have rarely any other sign than a 
green twig or a bunch of long shavings. These facts 
seem to indicate a meager amount of education among the 
people, but I hope it is otherwise. 

I continued my tramp as best I could with the frequent 
rains. At Bruck the road left the Mur and thence followed 
the banks of its tributary, the Muerz. But as the ascent of 
the mountain chain became steeper this stream was left be- 
hind. It was toward evening when I reached the highest 
part of the Semmering Pass. The southern side is by no 
means extraordmary. The scenery is beautiful, but I thought 
it equaled by other summits which 1 had seen during the 
journey. The sun was already below the horizon when I 
took my farewell look toward the south. A purple mist 
lay on the valley of the Mur which extended as far as the 
eye could reach between two mountain walls. Golden fring- 
ed clouds ended the vista, and with this glorious sight I bade 
adieu to the land of Styria. 

That night I slept at the inn on the summit, 3,910 feet 
above the sea, and for once I had no objection to a German 
feather bed for covering. The next morning I set off to 
descend the northern slope. Here I found the fine scenery 
that I had looked for in vain upon the southern side. There 
was a constant succession of sublime view^s of woodland, 
valleys and peaks. In the distance the snowy summit of the 



2IO 

Schneeberg rose high over all, while on the opposite side of 
the valley I could see the railway with its bold bridges and 
tunnels. After an hour's rapid descent I reached the market 
town Schottwien, which consists of a single street running 
through a narrow gorge. A wall at each end of the place 
has been all that was necessary to defend the town. 

Some distance farther on I came to the banks of the 
Leitha in the broad valley of which I walked for the rest of 
the day . The last nine miles between Neunkirchen and 
Wiener-Neustadt were the most monotonous which I found 
in all my tramp. The road is perfectly straight and passes 
through a dense pine forest which is uninhabited. 

Wiener-Neustadt is a pleasing city with a goodly number 
of parks, an interesting old church and a castle in which 
Emperor Maximilian is buried. He was born here, and 
was not permitted to rest under his gorgeous monument in 
the church of the Franciscans at Innsbruck, although that 
was his last wish. 

Having now reached the plain of Vienna I ended my 
tramp and took the train to the national capital. I had walk- 
ed nearly three hundred miles and suffered a great many 
discomforts, but for all that I consider it a pleasant journey 
and know I have seen much that I could not in any other 
way. I have come through a country where farming is 
done by hand, and where a laboror gets ten and fifteen cents 
a day in addition to very poor board. I have learned that 
we Americans know little of economy and if we suffer in 
one way it is because we squander our substance in another. 
In the far future our country ma}^ be in as pitiable a con- 
dition as Europe is to-day; but for the present America is 



A STUDENT S VIEWS ABROAD. 211 

emphatically the best place for the workingman. It is there, 
and there alone, that possibility holds out the golden apples 
of success before every man, and if he be bold and strong 
and true he will win. 



CHAPTER XII . 



VIENNA. ITS CHURCHES AND MUSEUMS. THROUGH BO- 
HEMIA. PRAGUE. DOWN THE ELBE TO DRESDEN. 



The capital of Austria impresses one at once with its 
size . In no other city that I have yet visited in Europe except 
Rome and Naples have the distances between the different 
quarters seemed so long . The population numbers over a 
million. 

I always supposed that Vienna was on the banks of the 
Danube, as Cincinnati or Louisville border on the Ohio. 
But the fact is the city is about a mile from the river and is 
only connected with it by a canal which cannot be entered 
by vessels of ordinary size. The Danube here is a broad 
stream with a very swift current and has little resemblance 
to the upper part which I saw at Ulm. 

The church of St. Stephen forms the heart of Vienna, 
and from the square before it the streams of life and trade 
circulate through all the outer districts. The edifice itself is 
a large Gothic structure, which dates from the beginning 
of the fourteenth century. The interior contains, in ad- 
dition to the usual ornaments, the handsome monument of 
the insignificant Emperor Frederick III. and the tomb of the 
famous Prince Eugene, whom history ranks as one of the 
greatest generals the world has seen. 

Among the other places of worship is the Votive Church 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD. 213 

which was built to commemorate the Emperor's escape 
from the hands of an assassm in 1853. Its richly decorated 
interior has just been finished, and the seventy-eight finely 
painted windows command universal and enthusiastic admira- 
tion. If the European nations in general were accustomed 
to build such edifices every time their sovereign escaped from 
a murderous knife or ball, I think ecclesiastical architec- 
ture would develop to an extent surpassing that of any 
previous age. 

In one corner of the new Market Place stands a little 
church, which possesses an interest which is not attached to 
prouder edifices. Under the building is the burial vault of 
the imperial house of Habsburg. A flight of steps leads 
down to the place where the crowned heads repose. One 
is surprised at the lack of ornament. Plain copper cas- 
kets cover the floor in every direction, and only a few have 
any other than a simple tablet. The oldest Emperor who 
lies here is Matthias, the founder of the vault, who died in 
1619. The last one is Ferdinand the First, who died in 
1875. Among the others are Empress Maria Theresa, 
Empress Marie Louise, wife of Napoleon I., and her son, 
and the late ill-fated Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. Nearly 
a dozen imperial rulers sleep in this plain vault while the 
busy world moves on in the street above. The stream of 
humanity is dull of memory, and those who cease to be 
abreast with the current are immediately cast aside and for- 
gotten. 

Vienna has numerous collections of various kinds, which 
rival even those of Munich. The chief gallery of paint- 
ings is in the Palace Belvedere, which stands in the midst of 



214 A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD . 

a large park in the south eastern quarter of the city. 
In the lower palace Belvedere is a museum of Roman 
and Egyptian antiquities and a collection of mediseval arms 
and armor. The former contains a number of busts and 
statues which one can by no means neglect even though he 
has seen the treasures of Rome, Naples and Florence. The 
museum of armor and similar curiosities is one of the most 
interesting in Vienna. It was. brought hither in 1806 from 
Amras Castle, near Innspruck. Among a thousand other 
things which I cannot name are the battle-axe of Monte- 
zuma, Inca of Mexico, suits of armor worn by Charles V., 
Maximilian I., Philip II. and the Duke of Alva. Besides 
this magnificent collection there are also two other museums 
of arms, both of which present much of interest. In the 
one belonging to the city there is a glass case which con- 
tains the skull of the Grand Vizier Kara Mustapha, 
who led the Turks at the siege of Vienna in 1683. After 
he had been driven back by the Polish King, John Sobieski, 
ke was strangled by order of the Sultan for his want of 
success. The wretch was pursued by fate even after he 
had suffered death at the hands of his friends. For when 
Belgrade was taken by the Austrians under Prince Eugene 
his body was exhumed and his skull, shroud and the cord 
with which he was executed were brought to Vienna by the 
victorious army. Thus the bones of the unfortunate Turk 
are exposed to the curious gaze of the common herd in the 
very city which he vainly strove to take. What mel- 
ancholy changes time brings to us poor mortals ! 

The other armor museum is in the Imperial Arsenal, a 
large building south of the city. The ground floor contains 



A student's VmWS ABROAD. 2i5 

a number of marble statues of distinguished heroes. A 
broad flight of steps ascends to the Austrian Hall of Fame, 
a large salon with a dome which is decorated with fres- 
coes of battle scenes. The museum has a large collection 
of armor, some of which belonged to the various German 
Emperors. One suit was worn by Prince Eugene. The 
most interesting article, however, for Protestants is the 
coat which Gustavus Adolphus wore at the battle of Lutz- 
en. The holes through which the fatal bullets passed are 
still visible. One feels a thrill of awe when he contemplates 
the garment which has been made sacred by the past suf- 
ferings of the heroic champion of liberty and progress. 
And then, too, one thinks of all that might have been if the 
Swedish King had lived. 

The Imperial Palace is an extensive but irregular pile of 
buildings, inclosing several courts and exhibiting different 
styles of architecture. Besides the parts used as the resi- 
dence there are other portions of the structure which are 
occupied by collections of various kinds. In the eastern 
wing is the imperal library, which contains 400,000 volumes 
and 20,000 manuscripts. The main building is adorned 
with frescoes and elegantly finished. In some special cases 
are preserved a number of rare editions and articles of his- 
torical interest. Charlemagne's prayer book and Tasso's 
Jerusalem in his own writing are among the things which 
can be named . The most important treasure in a historical 
view is the Peutinger tablet, a road map of the Roman Em- 
pire of the latter part of the second century. 

On the opposite side of the court is a collection of coins 
and antiquities which is very interesting. It contains a mag- 



2i6 A student's views abroad. 

nificent array of gems and gold ornaments and the seal of 
Alaric, the King of the Goths. But the most important 
collection in Vienna, as far as wealth is concerned, is the 
treasury of the imperial house. When I reached the en- 
trance at the appointed hour I found a large crowd already 
assembled ; so great is the eagerness of the people to see the 
immeasurable riches of the crown. The collection com- 
prises the memorial gifts which the sovereigns have re- 
ceived as well as the treasures which are purely ornamental. 
In the first room are some curious old heralds' garments 
embroidered with gold. Next is a lot of intricately wrought 
watches and clocks. Then comes a number of crystal and 
gold vessels of all sizes and designs, some of which cost 
fabulous sums. In a room toward the right is a collection 
of articles which have a historical importance; the insignia 
of the old "Holy Roman Empire," crown, scepter, imperial 
apple, coronation robes and relics, the insignia of Napoleon 
I., as King of Italy, and a talisman with horoscope which 
once belonged to the superstitious Wallenstein. In one cor- 
ner stands the costly gilded silver cradle in which Napoleon's 
child, the King of Rome, formed his first impressions of this 
world. In another room stands a large glass case which is 
always surrounded by an eager throng of visitors. The 
light flashes upon a thousand diamonds, for the treasures 
have an immeasurable value. There are the crowns of the 
Emperor and Empress and the scepter and imperial apple, 
all glittering with gems. Then there are badges of the dif- 
ferent orders. Leaves and flowers and ribbons lie there, all 
made of the sparkling diamonds. The largest gem of the 
collection is the Florentine diamond which once belonged to 



217 

Charles the Bold of Burgundy. After the Swiss had de- 
feated him at Murden, a peasant is said to have found the 
treasure and sold it to a merchant for fifty cents* It weighs 
one hundred and thirty-three and a third carats. The grand 
cross of the Order of Maria Theresa is composed of five 
hundred and forty-eight brilliants v^ith a twenty-six carat 
diamond in the center* Around this ectr^y of inestimable 
wealth the crowd pressed continually, eager to gaze at the 
stones which only kings and fairies can possess* Perhaps 
some envied the Emperor, but it is not likely that any of us 
will ever see another such a fabulous treasure* 

Like all European cities Vienna has a goodly number of 
statues and parks. The fortifications of the inner town 
have been leveled and transformed into boulevards. In the 
broad plain between the city and the Danube there is an im- 
mense forest-like park called the Prater, which is a favorite 
resort of all ranks of the Viennese, from the chimneysweeps 
to the Kaiser. I went out there on Sunday evening and 
found the Germans in their glory. The principal avenues 
were lined with all conceivable kinds of wonders under can- 
vas, from a phonograph to a trained flea show * Beer was 
flowing as fast as the current of the Danube and masticated 
pretzels were following the deluge into the limitless abyss 
which the German calls his stomach. Some of the more 
sentimental were sitting under the protecting shadows of 
the old trees and murmuring sweet words to the willing ears 
of the fair. I have little sympathy for the ruling passions 
of the Germans, and do not think that the summit of human 
happiness is to be found in the bottom of a beer glass, nor 
that the greatest joys are to be drawn through an ancient 



2i8 A student's views abroad. 

pipe whose odors are foul enough to poison one who has 
ever breathed the pure atmosphere of nature. But still I 
think it would be well if Americans would imitate the peri- 
odic picnic excursions which every family in this country 
makes to some convenient park or grove . Perhaps then 
the serenity of the outer world would tend to cool the feverish 
blood in our veins and calm the nervous impetuosity which 
makes us the slaves of our aims in life. 

Vienna's cemeteries are situated just outside of the city 
in all directions . I made a long excursion afoot from the 
southeastern gate around to the northwestern, visiting the 
most important of the burial grounds and some other places 
of interest. At some distance from the gate of St. Mark 
is the cemetery of the same name, which contains the grave 
of the great " Tonmeister, " Mozart. In the midst of a 
wilderness of wooden crosses I found the monument which 
was erected in 1 859 on the spot which is supposed to be the 
composer's resting place, although the fact, alas ! can never 
be known with certainty. The chapter of the miseries 
of the learned is so long that one may well wonder that 
those who slave for public pleasure do not revolt and demand 
a share of the gold of the dullards who enjo}^ the fruits of 
their labors. Mozart died at Vienna in the prime of life, 
worn out by labor and disappointment. The physicians call- 
ed the disease by several long names according to their 
different opinions, but it is probable that the chief ailing was 
not within their sphere of observation. The composer's 
savings were meager, and to avoid expense a public grave 
was taken at the cemetery . The few friends who followed 
the body hither, however, turned back at the city gate on 



A student's views abroad. 219 

account of a violent storm, and unattended the great tone- 
master was laid to rest among the hundreds of obscure dead. 
When the disconsolate widow visited the cemetery after- 
wards there was a new sexton, who could tell her nothing 
of the grave of her husband . At such terms great men 
win their fame ! 

The monument represents the mourning Muse of Music 
with the half unrolled scroll of Mozart's last work, the re- 
quiem, which proved, indeed, as he said, to be for himself . 
A few trees shelter the spot, and all around stand the wood- 
en crosses like a field of grain. Every foot of ground has 
its tale of woe, but none can be sadder than that which tells 
of the melancholy fate of genius. 

A walk of a half hour brings one to the Matzleindorf 
cemetery, which is just south of the city. It contains the 
grave of the composer Gluck. A small, pointed monument 
marks the spot and bears a short inscription in testimony of 
his honest discharge of the duties of life. 

From here I walked out to the well-known mperial sum- 
mer palace of Schoenbrunn. Napoleon occupied it in 1805 
and 1809, when he entered Vienna, and in 1832 his son died 
in the same room which he had used. The extensive park 
is laid out in broad walks and stands always open to the pub- 
lic. In one corner is a small Roman ruin and the " beauti- 
ful fountam " which gives its name to the palace. There is 
something royal in a majestic row of tall trees which cannot 
be imitated by wealthy upstarts . The reverend shade of 
an artificial forest, like a gallery of dusky ancestral por- 
traits, is an unimpeachable evidence of princely blood. 

After seeing the statue of Emperor Maximilian of Mexico 



22o 

at the adjacent village of Heitzing, I turned toward the 
north and in an hour reached the suburban town Waehring . 
I went immediately to the cemetery and soon found the 
graves of two other famous composers, Franz Schubert and 
Beethoven, The monument of the former consists of a sort 
of canopy supported by two columns, which cover a bust of 
the lamented master. The inscription says, " Music buried 
here a rich jwssession, yet still finer expectations, " for the 
coniposer was but thirty-one years old when death claimed 
him for his own. The monument of Beethoven is a large 
pointed column bearing a golden butterfly and a lyre with 
the simple inscription, "Beethoven." Yet that single 
word is sufficient, for who has not heard of the deaf com- 
poser? 

I next proceeded over the hills to the Kahlenberg, a lofty 
mountain which rises near the Danube and commands an ex- 
tensive view. As the weather was somewhat misty, I did 
not climb to the top, but rested on a grass plot which afford- 
ed an excellent prospect . Far to the right I could see 
the mountain chain extending toward the Semmering Pass. 
Before me lay the sea of spires and roofs of the imperial 
capital. Farther to the right was the forest of the Prater 
and among the trees rose the dome, which is almost the 
only relic of the buildings of the great exhibition of 1873. 
Next toward the north flowed the broad stream of the Dan- 
ube, which is crossed by five great bridges. Then fromthe 
river the plain stretched toward the east until it was lost in 
the mists of the evening . This is the famous Marchfield, 
the battlefield of history. Here Ottakar, King of Bohemia, 
overthrew the Hungarian invaders, and here, too, helostsiiis 



A student's views abroad. 221 

crown and life in battle with Emperor Rudolph, of Haps- 
burg . Here Napoleon was repulsed at Aspern, and here he 
drove the Austrians back at Wagram. Here were blood 
and death and glory . Here sword clashed against sword, 
and bayonet against bayonet ; here cannon and musket pour- 
ed forth murderous volleys at human targets ; here men be- 
came fiends and hewed one another to atoms^ killed without 
mercy, and died lamenting that they could no longer destroy* 
As the last rays of the setting sun fell on this scene of hor- 
rible memory I descended the mount and returned to the 
city. 

I left Vienna, on Saturday morning, by the Franz Joseph 
railway. We crossed the Danube some distance above the 
city, and then entered a region where low ranges of hills al- 
ternate with the valleys of small streams. The fenceless 
hills are destitute of houses . The country has no large 
cities and few places of historical interest, and the only thing 
that I have to record concerning the journey is the fact that 
I saw a gravel train with a large crowd of women and girls, 
who filled the office of shovelers. I have seen the so-called 
weaker sex pulling wagons, working in streets, harvesting 
hay, hoeing corn, and performing similar feats, but this is the 
first time that I have found them employed in building rail- 
roads. They did not seem at all troubled at having such a 
task, but were merry enough to sing. 

Prague has a beautiful situation on both banks of the 
broad Moldau, and is surrounded by hills of various heights. 
After a short walk from the depot, I passed through the pow- 
der tower, which was once a city gate, and entered the old 
town, which presents quite an antique appearance, with its 



222 A student's VIEWS ABROAD. 

narrow lanes and quaint old buildings , A short distance 
farther I came to the square before the town hall, which, 
like many similar places in European cities, has a part in 
tragic history . After Tilly had defeated the Protestants on 
the White Mountain, in the beginning of the Thirty Years' 
War, twenty-seven of the captured leaders were executed in 
the square with various degrees of cruelty. The officers 
first cut off the University rector's tongue and then his head. 
They nailed the town secretary's tongue to the scaffold and 
then strangled him. This bloody act of the 21st of June, 
1621, is not, however, the only event which stains the place, 
for after Wallenstein was defeated at Lutzen, he vented his 
rage by causing eleven of his higher officers to be put to 
death here, " for cowardice on the battlefield. " 

The Charles bridge, w^hich is the most interesting relic of 
antiquity in Prague, was built in the fourteenth century, and 
is entirely of stone. A lofty tower stands at each end, 
which once served as a means of defense. The bridge hap 
been the scene of bloody struggles during the Thirty Years' 
War and the conflicts with Frederick the Great. Over each 
pier there are ancient statues, which contribute to give the 
structure a quaint appearance. In the middle of the bridge 
stands a crucifix, whose pious inscription but serves to mark 
it as a monument of the shameful persecutions which were 
enacted in the name of Christianity : " Thrice holy, holy, 
holy to the honor of Christ the crucified. Erected from the 
fines of a Jew, who was reviling the holy cross, b} a very 
worthy royal Tribunal ^ppellatorium, 1606. " 

A short distance beyond the crucifix a tablet designates 
the place where St. John Nepomucenus was thrown into the 



A student's views abroad. 223 

river in 1383 by command of Emperor Wenzel because he 
refused to devulge what the Empress had confided to him as 
her confessor . The legend says that his body floated for 
some time upon the Moldau, while five bright stars formed 
a nimbus around his head. The faithful do not have any 
difficulty in believing the story, and they touch the spot with 
their fingers whenever they cross the bridge. And yet more, 
many thousands from Bohemia, Moravia and Hungary make 
a pilgrimage hither every year, and the saint's monument in 
the cathedral is built of three thousand pounds of silver. 

From the bridge a street leads past a fine monument to 
Field Marshal Radetzky up to the Hradschin, or ancient 
royal palace, which stands upon a hill in the northwestern 
part of the city. It is a very extensive building of indiffer- 
ent appearance, enclosing a number of courts. From one 
of the windows next the town the imperial governors were 
thrown by the Protestants in 1618, and thus began the Thirty 
Years' War, which desolated vast districts, destroyed thous- 
ands of cities and villages, and caused the death of a mill- 
ion human beings. 

In one of the courts, enclosed by the wings of the palace, 
is the cathedral, a Gothic edifice, which is far from being 
completed. It contains some interesting monuments, one 
of which marks the testing place of a number of German 
Emperors and Bohemian Kings. 

I next crossed the Moldau and visited the Judenstadt or 
Jewish quarter. The streets are narrow and the houses of 
uninviting exterior, but the spirit of that wonderful people 
drives through every difficulty and accumulates wealth in 
the strangest sorts of ways . In the midst of some shops 



224 

where old shoes, cast off clothes, scraps of iron and the like 
are bought and sold, I was quite startled at seeing a large 
steel engraving of the familiar face of U. S. Grant staring 
at me from the door of a dealer in rubbish. Perhaps the 
eyes pleaded with me as an American to rescue him from 
such a place, but I was hard-hearted and let him stay. And 
so the poor General's picture is doomed to hang for an in- 
definite period in the shop of a vendor of the odds and ends 
of human goods. 

The Jews form a considerable portion of the population 
of Vienna and Prague, and one often sees some strange fig- 
ures. In Vienna they have a peculiar costume among the 
men, which consists of a long dark coat reaching below the 
knees, which they wear over the usual garments which are 
worn by the Gentiles . In addition to this they let their 
beards grow long and train a curl before each ear, which 
gives them a quaint appearance. One meets hundreds of 
such men, who look as though they were thoroughly versed 
in the mysteries of prophesying and dealing in old clothes. 
Involuntary gestures, long seasons of solitary meditation and 
incoherent mutterings of the lips are the palpable indications 
of superhuman knowledge. 

In the midst of this busy Jewish quarter is their cemetery 
which dates from the earliest times of Prague . It is no 
easy task to find one's way through the narrow alleys but I 
finally accomplished the feat and entered the ancient ground. 
It is a scene not to be met with everywhere. Thousands of 
half-hewn stones stand close together, having one side cov- 
ered with long inscriptions in the Hebrew character. Some 
of the monuments have rude signs of the tribe to which the 



A studknt's views abroad. 225 

deceased belonged, such as two hands for a descendant of 
Aaron. Then there are heaps of smaller stones which friends 
bring to commemorate their visit and do honor to the dead. 
The cemetery is a strange spectacle, but looks too much like 
a wilderness. All the European burial grounds have such 
crowded rows of monuments that the visitor is always op- 
pressed by the consciousness of man's insignificance. But 
under the green trees of an American cemetery death seems 
like a natural sleep and the eternal beauty of nature consols 
us in our sorrow. 

After spending the day among the interesting old build- 
ings of Prague, I left by the train toward Dresden. I m- 
tended to make a foot journey through the mountainous dis- 
trict near the frontiers of Bohemia and Saxony, and there- 
fore took a ticket to Lobositz, a small town at the beginning 
of the narrow part of the Elbe valley. As the train rolled 
out of the Prague depot I obtained a passing glimpse of the 
Ziska Mountain, where the famous one-eyed Hussite gen- 
eral won a victory in 1420. After a short distance the rail- 
road leaves the pleasant valley of the Moldau and crosses a 
wide level tract of country, which extends to Lobositz on 
the Elbe. 

It had been raining very hard during the day, and when 
I left the train I found the roads so muddy that I concluded 
to wait until the next morning, and even entertained serious 
thoughts of abandoning my projected tramp . I spent the 
night in a tolerable inn which put on fashionable airs and 
had a name of the Golden Eagle or Green Tree, or some- 
thing similar, I have forgotten just what. When I awoke 
I had only courage enough to determine to walk to the 
next station, and so set out in an uncertain frame of mind. 



226 A student's VIEWS ABROAD, 

The road was not quite so bad as I had feared, and I soon 
reached a slight hill not far from the town which is sur- 
mounted by a monument. Lobositz is one of the many 
places in Europe which have gained a name in history from 
the battles which were fought in the neighborhood . The 
only claim which Lobositz has for immortality is the fact 
that Frederick the Great defeated an Austrian army near 
the town, Oct. ist, 1756. The monument commemorates a 
subsequent visit of Emperor Joseph IL to the spot. 

A short distance farther on I entered the narrow valley of 
the Elbe, which is already a considerable stream. Like the 
Rhme the romantic region is disturbed by a railroad upon 
each bank of the river. The hills are covered with vegeta- 
tion and dotted with houses, but vineyards are very rare. I 
have had a good opportunity to appreciate the comparative 
smallness of the German speaking portion of the Austrian 
Empire. From Trieste to Gratz I met a number of Sla- 
vonic dialects, and was shut off from all intercourse with the 
people. Then a few hours ride northward from Vienna 
brought me again in the midst of a language which I could 
not understand. Add to this the fact that the Hungarian 
language begins a short distance east of Vienna and one can 
then appreciate what a small portion of territory is occupied 
by pure Germans in the Austrian Empire. 

I enjoyed my solitary walk down the Elbe so well that I 
did not stop at the first station. The river craft which I saw 
consisted mostly of large fiat boats, but occasionally some 
neat little steamers came along to enliven the scene. 1 would 
have been well enough satisfied with my tramp, but it began 
to rain furiously later in the morning, and all the romantic 



A BTUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 22^ 

past vanished. At noon I stopped at the Anker Inn at the 
village of Wannow and liked the location so well that I 
staid two days. The house stands near the water's edge, 
and at a little wharf before the door the din:iinutive Elbe 
steamers land every few hours. A short distance down the 
stream upon the opposite bank rises a lofty projecting rock 
— the " Lorelei of the Elbe " — which is crowned by a most 
picturesque ruined castle called Schreckenstein. Far in the 
distance across the long sheet of water I could see the 
bridge and steeples of the little village of Aussig. All 
around one obtains pleasing ghmpses of rock and foHage in 
endless variety. In the solemn stillness of the twilight I sat 
and watched the towers and battlements of the old castle 
over the stream until I drifted back into those strange days 
of chivalry when life was one long poem, and the privileged 
lords almost escaped the prosaic jars of our rude world. 

The fact that I am an American did not awaken as much 
curiosity in the inn as usual, for two lady artists from the 
great Republic have recently made some long visits at the 
house, so I was not regarded as a particularly rare animal. 
The little steamers had pleased me so much that I con- 
cluded to abandon my tramp, and embarked on the second 
day upon the John Penn for Dresden. The scenery of the 
Mittel Mountains seemed very pleasing as we glided along 
but I saw nothing as beautiful as Schreckenstein which I 
could not forget. At the group of villages near Bodenbach 
the hills approach closer to the river and become higher and 
more rugged. This is the beginning of the district called 
the Saxon Switzerland. 

Some time after this we reached the frontiers of Saxony 



228 

and at 6 p. m. steamed under the stone bridge at Dresden. I 
felt quite glad to cross the line once more into Germany 
after an absence of three months and a half among the 
Italians and Austrians . While I would not say a reproach- 
ful word against the noble and intelligent spirits which 
those nations unquestionably have, still I know from exper- 
ience that the Germans in general are more friendly toward 
strangers, and welcomed with pleasure the hour that brought 
me once more among them. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE BKAUTY AND ART TREASURES OF DRESDEN. OVER THE 

PLAINS OF SAXONY. LEIPZIG. LUTZEN , WITTEN- 
BERG. BERLIN . 



Berlin, July 2 2d, 1880. 

The traveler who approaches Dresden by the river is at 
once impressed with the gayety and magnificence of the 
famous capital. When I landed from the steamer early in 
the evening, the long stone bridges and broad quays were 
thronged with people, and everyone seemed in that pleasing 
state of exhilaration which is fitting for those who live 
among the choicest treasures of art. A green-covered rem- 
nant of the old city wall is still standing along the river and 
its summit has been converted into a most agreeable prome- 
nade, which the natives call the Bruehl Terrace . After 
depositing my baggage in a hotel, I returned to this inviting 
walk and was more than usually pleased with the sur- 
roundings . The river is crossed by three massive stone 
bridges and lined with churches, palaces and dwellings, 
which combine to give a worthy idea of the architecture of 
the city. The surface of the stream is covered with bath 
houses and small water craft. 

A short distance from the terrace is the royal palace, a 
large irregular edifice, which was founded in 1534. In a 
suite of rooms on the ground floor there is a collection of 



230 A student's views abroad* 

jewels and curiosities, called the Green Vault, which is simi- 
lar to the imperial treasury at Vienna, though of less value« 
The array of statuettes, vases and trinkets of rare and 
costly materials is perfectly bewildering. The curiosities of 
the collection are Luther's and Melanchthon's rings ; a 
diamond of five and a third ounces weight ; a ladies' bow 
ornamented with six hundred and sixty-two diamonds; the 
largest onyx known, seven inches in height ; and a curious 
model representing the court of a grand mogul at Delhi 
with a hundred and fifty-two movable figures in gold and 
enamel. 

The picture gallery, which has made Dresden such a fa- 
miliar name in all quarters of the globe, is situated in a 
large imposing building of unnamable shape called the 
Zwinger, which was erected in the beginning of the last 
century. 

The gem of the picture gallery is Raphael's Madonna di 
San Sisto which is one of the most famous paintings in ex- 
istence. It is placed in an apartment by itself and is con- 
tinually surrounded by throngs of admirers. Some few 
lean back sagaciously and point out the place where the 
master could have improved his work, but the picture has 
enjoyed the homage of many generations and most people 
are not rash enough to doubt its excellence. It was pur- 
chased for the Dresden gallery in 1753 for forty-five 
thousand dollars. 

In the Johanneum, which is not far from the Zwinger, 
there is one of those historical museums which I think the 
most interesting and instructive which the European capi- 
tals possess. Besides a very fine collection of furniture, 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD. 23I 

Utensils, trinkets, arms and armor, representing the various 
periods, there are also a number of articles which have a 
peculiar value on account of their history. One case con- 
tains Luther's sword and goblet. I think that it is quite 
natural that the Germans should hold the reformer's drinking 
cup in all honor, for they never tire of repeating his famous 
maxim, "who loves not wine, wife and song, remains a fool 
his life long." I heard it sung with unlimited applause at a 
Sunday night revel last winter and the singer was encored 
until he was exhausted. My German friends have solemnly 
said it over to me as a fearful warning to mend my ways 
and the other day I heard a toper in a country inn quote it 
for the edification of another who appeared slightly back- 
ward at the beer mug. Luther's theology is not received in 
every part of the Fatherland but every genuine German can 
without scruple subscribe and swear to his maxim, -'who 
loves not wine, wife and song, remains a fool his life long." 
In the quarter of the city on the opposite side of the Elbe 
is the Japanese Palace, which contains a few collections of 
various kinds and the royal library of 500,000 volumes, 
2,000 specimens of early typography, 4,000 manuscripts and 
30,000 maps. I was not guilty of coveting any of the 
jewels in the Green Vault, but among these treasures I am 
afraid I broke one of the commandments pretty badly. So 
we are by nature and I cannot say that I am more rational 
than the others. I smiled with pitying contempt when I 
saw a costly but useless trinket upon which some wretch 
spent a quarter of a century of work, and yet when I look 
at the musty volumes that are unread and forgotten, 1 
sometimes doubt whether the laborious authors have accom- 



232 A sTaOENT's VIEWS ABROAD, 

plished more than the man who devoted his space of life to 
the carving of a toy. But then let every one tramp in his 
own chosen tread-mill, and if he thinks it is heaven do not 
try to undeceive him. " Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly 
to be wise. " 

In a little street back of the Japanese Palace there is a 
three-story building which ought to be held in honor by 
every true lover of the muses. Here once lived Dr. Christ- 
ian Gottfried Koerner ; here one famous poet was born ; and 
here doziens of Germany's greatest men have met on terms 
of closest friendship. In June, 1874, when Schiller was in 
Mannheim writing for the theater, sick in body and still 
sicker at heart, he was surprised to receive an elegantly em- 
broidered pocket-book with four portraits and letters from 
Leipzig. That packet was from Dr. Koerner, and his en- 
couragement brought new life to the poet and began a friend- 
ship that was only td'minated by the cold hand of death. In 
the following year Schiller went to Dresden, where his new 
found friend had settled, and was received with open arms 
by his admirer. The kind hearted doctor aided him in es- 
caping pecuniary want and he soon recovered his mental and 
physical vigor. The years 1786 and 1787 he spent at his 
friend's house in writing Don Carlos and parts of other 
works. "I have now finally attained," he wrote to a friend, 
" what my most ardent wishes aimed at. In the midst of 
our dear ones here I am lifted up as though in heaven . " 
During the summer months he composed in a little house in 
a vineyard a short distance up the Elbe . It is a pleasant 
hillside close to the river, affording excellent views of the 
stream and adjacent fields and is now thickly dotted with 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD. 233 

Villas. In 1 801 Schiller visited his friend the second time 
and was equally delighted . Among the others who were 
on intimate terms with the Koerner family were such famous 
men as Goethe, Nicoli, the Humboldts, the Schlegels and 
Novalis* In the year 1788 when the unfortunate Mozart 
was on one of his journeys he became acquainted with Dr. 
Koerner and " Aunt Doris, '* the Doctor's sister-in-law, drew 
his portrait in pencil. 

In the midst of such refined surroundings Theodore Koer- 
ner, the famous poet, was born, September 23, 1791. He 
grew up in those painful days of Napoleon's tyrannical rule 
and all his aspirations were directed toward the redeeming 
of his Fatherland. When the nation awoke in 181 3 and all 
classes rushed to arms, the poet laid down his books and 
seized the sword. With hundreds of students and men of 
mental power he donned the black uniform of Luetzow's 
Volunteers, and fought and sang like a true poet . A few 
hours before his death he wrote a song to his sword, his iron 
bride. On the 26th of August, 3S13, he fell in the battle 
near Gadebusch, 19 miles from Schwerin. A small volume 
contains all that Koerner wrote, but the book continues to 
be popular, and has appeared in a dozen different forms. 
The Germans love the man too well to forget the poet. 
Dresden has erected a large statue to his memory, and mod- 
ern painters have given him a place in those battle pictures 
which adorn the galleries of the capital. Theodore Koer- 
ner's name will live as long as the nation preservCvS the mem- 
ory of the tyranny of Napoleon and the rising of the peo- 
ple in 18 1 3. 

Over the door of this remarkable house are two medal- 



234 A student's views abroad. 

lion portraits of Schiller and Koerner, cast from a cannon 
captured in the last war with France, The three front 
rooms on the ground floor are used for a museum of articles 
relating to the distinguished persons connected with the house. 
The collection comprises a large number of autographs of 
prominent characters in the Napoleonic wars and the most 
varied kinds of mementos of Theodore Koerner and his 
father's family. There are the watch, ring, vest, epaulets, 
and officer's sash which the poet wore when he fell. And 
then, too, they show the fruitless amulet which his sweet- 
heart hung around his neck to ward off the hostile bullets . 
The library- room contains a large number of books relating 
to Schiller and the Koerners and the cases and desk which 
belonged to the doctor. A large quantity of manuscripts 
of Theodore Koerner are shown, some of them dating from 
his earliest years. One almost believes that they have every 
scrap of paper on which he ever wrote . The chief cus- 
todian is completely absorbed in his charge and buys or begs 
the minutest relics of his dear poet as though they were 
diamonds. It is nearly a monomania with him, and of all 
the similar museums on earth I think he has the most com- 
plete . Over the door of the house is the quotation from 
Goethe's Tasso : " The place a noble man has trod is sanc- 
tified : after a hundred years resound his word and deed to 
the grandson again. " 

After three days' stay in Dresden I felt ready to move on 
toward Leipzig and accordingly embarked on an Elbe steam- 
er for Meissen, which I reached in a few hours. It was mar- 
ket day and the squares and narrow streets were filled with 
peasants and their baskets of fruit and vegetables . The 



A student's views ABUOAB. 2 35 

country people of Saxony have no picturesque costume to 
make them remarkable, but their honesty cheerful faces leave 
a good impression upon the stranger. 

Meissen is one of the oldest towns in Saxony and looks 
rather quaint even to-day. Upon the Castle Hill there is a 
group of old buildings, the most imposing of which is the 
cathedral, which was founded in the thirteenth century. It 
is one of the most pleasing of the smaller structures of that 
kind which I have seen. Upon entering the church one 
first passes through the Princes' Chapel^ which is the burial 
place of the ancestors of the present royal house of Saxony. 
The most of the tombs are covered with large, smooth slabs 
of bronze or brass, in which life-size portraits are carved to- 
gether with the inscriptions. The audience room of the 
cathedral has a simple grandeur of column and vaulting that 
one cannot soon forget. The custodian showed us a few 
curiosities and then led us to a point in the rear of the cathe- 
dral, from which we had an extensive view of the Elbe 
valley and the distant hills. 

The old castle of the fifteenth century adjoins the church, 
but I did not stop to visit it. An ancient bridge with battle- 
ments leads from the Castle Hill to the Afra-Fels upon 
which there is an old abbey which was converted into a 
school in 1543. In the last century Gellert and Lessing 
were among the pupils. The institution was governed upon 
monkish principles and pious meditation and Latin occupied 
most of the time. This rigid monastic life would have been 
oppressive to many but it proved congenial to the spirit of 
the young Lessing, who was destined to regenerate German 
literature. He found endless pleasure in the miscellaneous 



2^6 A student's views abroad. 

reading of his leisure hours and all through life he looked 
back with wistful gaze at the happy years which he spent at 
Meissen. 

I next descended the hill, passed through the quaint old 
town and took the steamer down the river to Riesa . The 
following morning I went by railway to Leipzig, the "little 
Paris," as it was called in the last century. As soon as I 
left the station I entered a park-like square adorned with 
statues and bordered by extensive buildings. A short dis- 
tance farther are the theaters and famous university. After 
seeking for Goethe's house in vain, I went toward the mar- 
ket square where I obtained a glimpse of Auerbach's fa- 
mous cellar. Every street seemed to be full of book-stores 
for there are about three hundred in the city besides the 
eighty large printing houses . The publishers in all parts 
of Germany have branch offices in Leipzig and the trade 
has no equal in Europe . During the Jubilate Fair, dealers 
from a distance throng here and the industry has reached 
such an extent that the book-dealers have their own ex- 
change. 

These great fairs occur three times a year, and the trade 
comprehends various articles, but especially furs, leather, 
cloth, woolen ware, glass and linen. They are attended by 
thirty or forty thousand merchants from all parts of Europe 
and the East. The value of the annual sales is said to 
reach the enormous average of fifty millions of dollars. 

After the fairs, books and university, Leipzig is perhaps 
best known to fame on account of the bloody four days' bat- 
tle of the allied armies against Napoleon, which began on 
the 1 6th of October, 1813, and ended on the 19th, when 



A student's views abroad. 237 

the French started upon their retreat to the Rhine. The 
scene of this "battle of nations," (Voelkerschlacht), as the 
Germans call it, was in the extensive plain southeast of the 
city. I left the Grimma Gate toward evening to visit the 
famous spot. The ground rises very gradually from Leip- 
zig and forms a slight elevation two miles south of the city. 
Beyond this the plain seems nearly level, although a nearer 
view discloses some minor irregularities . The highest part 
of the ridge lies near Thonberg in the midst of cultivated 
fields, and is to-day called Napoleon's Hill, because the Em- 
peror watched the decisive battle of the 19th from that spot. 
The summit is planted with trees and flowers and sur- 
mounted by a monument. A square pedestal bears a bronze 
cast representing a three-cornered hat, sword, map and 
field glass lying upon a cushion. 

Immediately adjoining the monument is a small shed, 
where nourishing drinks are sold to the patriotic pilgrims 
who come hither in crowds upon Sundays and holidays. 
There is perhaps no monument of any consequence in Ger- 
many which has not a restaurant near at hand. An atmos- 
phere of tobacco smoke and a mug of beer seem to 
sharpen a German's appreciation of the beautiful and put 
him in a suitable frame of mind to meditate upon the heroic 
deeds of his forefathers. If the dealers m these delectable 
articles were alive to their interests they would be assiduous 
students of history and untiring advocates of the erection of 
numberless monuments. 

From Napoleon's Hill I continued my walk southward. 
As it became thoroughly dark I reached the village of Probs- 
theyda, which was the center of the French position. As 



238 

it was already late I stopped at the inn for the night. The 
following morning I walked some distance farther to the 
monument to the memory of Prince Schwarzenberg, the 
leader of the allied armies. It is a simple rectangular 
block of granite, with an inscription recording that it was 
erected by his widow and his three sons. It is surrounded 
by a grove laid out in walks and the custodian exhibits a 
few bones and balls from the great battle. They were 
very insignificant in comparison to those at Waterloo but it 
is a rule with relics that the supply is in exact proportion to 
the demand. If the Germans wished it, I suppose the 
English work-shops could supply them with as many and as 
varied "genuine" mementos of the conflicts as they do for 
Waterloo. 

A few steps beyond this is an elevation called the Mon- 
archs' Hill, from a tradition that the three rulers of Prussia, 
Russia and Austria stood there when they received news of 
the victory of the i8th. It is marked by a plain pointed 
monument of iron, and, I will add, is fortified with a res- 
taurant . 

The Grimma Gate, through which I returned, is the 
place where the allies first forced their way into Leipzig on 
the 19th. A neighboring square, where they made their 
first stand, is marked by a monument of balls that were 
found in the city and environs. When the French left the 
town arrangements were made to blow up the bridge over 
the Elster after all had passed, but the man who was charg- 
ed with this duty became confused and set fire to the ex- 
plosives too soon. B}- this fatal mistake the entire rear 
guard was cut off, and either fell into the hands of the 



A student's views abroad. 239 

enemy or perished miserably in the stream. Prince Pon- 
iatowsky leaped his horse into the river, but the current 
carried him down and he was seen no more. Two monu- 
ments in the western part of the city mark the spot where 
the bridge stood and the place where the unfortunate prince 
was drowned. There have been few more terrific conflicts 
than this battle of the nations which the German historians 
are wont to compare to that victorious repulse of foreign 
tyranny which the tribes made under Herman in the Teuto- 
burg Forest in the spring time of the northern race. 

" Where is the village of Lutzen?" I asked a railroad of- 
ficial as I dismounted from the Leipzig train at Durrenberg 
station . 

" It's no village — it's a town," was the short reply. 

" Well, where is it and how far is it,^" I asked further, 
for I was going to Lutzen, and whether it was a village or 
a town was a matter of minor importance. " It's in that di- 
rection," returned the man in uniform, pointing toward the 
southeast, "and it's six quarters of an hour if you march 
well." 

Upon further inquiry I learned that I had come too far by 
railroad and would have to go back a few miles over the 
the ground I had just passed. This was not very welcome 
news, as I am not such an ambitious pedestrian as I was in 
Southern Austria, and shall not undertake any more three 
hundred mile walks very soon again . The July sun is not 
at all stimulating and photographs and books are accumu- 
lating so fast on my hands as to make my knapsack "swell 
wisably," as the lamented Weller would say. There is 
nothingbetter than a good volume of some favorite author 



240 A student's views abroad. 

to drive away weariness and home-sickness and make one 
forget the beery and smoky atmosphere of the country 
inns, but when I plod along the hot and dusty roads with 
my pack on my back I feel decidedly of the opinion that 
books have a specific gravity that is not equalled by lead. 

But it was nearly seven o'clock in the evening and I had a 
distance of "six quarters of an hour" to walk and the best 
thing that I could do was to set off and show that I could 
"march well . " The country for miles around Leipzig is a 
plain that exhibits but ver^^ slight undulations of the ground. 
It presents many advantages for a fair conflict and has been 
the scene of more great battles than any other region in 
Germany . 

The waving fields of golden grain looked peaceful enough 
as I left Durrenberg. The lazily revolving fans of the num- 
erous windmills supplied the place of trees in the landscape. 
Interspersed among these stand the lofty and slender chim- 
neys of the coal mines which dot the countr}?- in every di- 
rection, emitting constant streams of smoke as though the 
forge of Vulcan itself was busy at work under this quiet 
plain. 

I had not proceeded far until a shepherd told me of a 
nearer way which led through a number of rustic villages. 
The houses of these little communities are surrounded by 
great fences but the hearts of the noble Saxons stand open 
toward strangers. I knew how to appreciate the kind 
greetings which I received from old and young, for I felt 
the contrast which it made to the hard, unfriendly stares 
and sullen answers I had met with in Austria. The tod- 
dling infants lisped their good evening! to me as I passed 



A student's views abroad. 241 

and the same cheering words were repeated by the stout 
toilers and by the aged veterans whose husky voices were 
as undefined as the babes. 

The plain in this neighborhood contains a sort of turf, the 
preparation of which gives occupation to many villagers. 
When it is first brought in, it is scarcely distinguishable from 
dark valley soil. They then mix it with water and knead it 
with their feet, as the Swabians tread their grapes. After 
this process is finished it is moulded mto blocks like bricks 
and left to dry in the sun. In every hamlet I saw groups of 
both sexes working at the turf with feet and ankles stained 
as black as midnight . 

I suppose I did not march well for the golden hues of 
the beautiful sunset had left the sky and it was nearly nine 
o'clock when I reached Lutzen, whose two church towers I 
had seen from afar. I was soon eating bread and butter and 
terrific country cheese in the inn of the three lime-trees and 
enlarging my knowledge of Lutzen . I was told that the 
town had about four thousand inhabitants and had remained 
true to the results of the battle, for there are not more than 
a couple of hundred Catholics in the place. 

The following morning I set out to view the battle-field 
in company with a middle-aged merchant who considered 
an American worthy of his attention. The scene of the 
famous conflict was in the plain toward the north and east 
of Lutzen and the monument is fully a mile distant. The 
importance of the battle for the preservation of German 
Protestantism and free thought can hardly be overestimated. 
For though their strongest champion, Gustavus Adolphus, 
perished on that day, and though the result by no means 



242 A student's views abroad^ 

ended the horrible war, still the Catholic power never re- 
covered completely from the blow and the conflict marks a 
turning point in history. 

On the evening of the 5th of November, 1632, Wallen- 
stein lay with the imperial army before Lutzen, waiting for 
the Swedish king to attack. The same night Gustavus 
Adolphus led his troops in the field opposite the enemy and 
both sides prepared for the battle of the morrow, upon the 
result of which rested the fame of both generals and the 
welfare of their causes. Wallenstein had made a feeble 
sort of intrenchment by deepening the ditches along the high- 
way, which he defended by a battery. This proved the 
main point of the conflict, and the guns were repeatedly 
taken and lost. When morning dawned a thick fog hid 
friend and foe, and not until 1 1 o'clock did the battle at 
length begin. Gustavus knelt in prayer before the ranks, 
and then the army sang Luther's famous hymn to martial 
music : "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott." With cries of 
" God with us !" they advanced to the attack and were 
fiercely met by the imperialists, whose watchword was 
"Jesus Maria!" Hither and thither swayed the tide of suc- 
cess. The ditches were crossed and re-crossed. The slain 
lay in heaps. When Gustavus returned from a victorious 
charge upon the left wing of the imperialists he heard that 
his own troops were giving away at another quarter and 
hastened to the rescue. But his near-sightedness led him 
too close to the enemy, and a ball shattered his arm. The 
king became faint and requested his companion, the Duke 
of Lauenburg, to conduct him quietly to the rear m order 
that his army might not loose spirit . But as they were do- 



A student's views abroad. 243 

ing this another ball entered the king's back and he fell from 
his horse. The imperialists plundered the corpse and the 
cry soon passed along the Swedish ranks that the kmg 
was dead. Like fiends they rose up, burning for revenge . 
The enemy gave way before their irresistable rage and 
were thrown into disorder. The imperialist powder train 
took fire and the terrific explosions increased their bewilder- 
ment. A disastrous retreat seemed unavoidable when the 
furious Pappenheim dashed up from Halle with eight 
regiments of cavalry. He turned the scale for a time, but 
soon fell mortally wounded and night left the battle undecided. 
Under cover of the darkness the imperialists retreated and 
the field and artillery remained in the hands of the Swedes . 
Nine thousand dead covered the plain . 

Such is a brief outline of the battle of Lutzen, the most 
famous of the Thirty Years' War. After a walk of about 
a mile we came to a little park by the roadside which con- 
tains the monument . It consists of a granite block covered 
by a large Gothic canopy of iron. The vaulting is painted 
blue and perforated with star-shaped openings through which 
the light shines making it seem like a portion of the sky. 
A stone in the rear of the monument bears the inscription in 
German of older date : " Gustavus Adolphus, King of 
Sweden, fell here in battle for spiritual freedom, November 
6th, 1632. " My friend told me that the place was visited 
by a great many Swedes and that memorial services were 
held here every year which were attended by large numbers 
of the neighboring people. 

After returning to Lutzen I walked three miles toward 
the south to the village of Gross-Goerschen, where the fierce 



244 

battle between Napoleon and the allies took place, May 2d, 
181 3. As I did not see anything but an iron cross covered 
by a canopy my enthusiasm was sensibly diminished when I 
returned from the six mile walk under the mid-day sun. 

I have never yet been treated with such distinguished 
honor as I was at the inn of the three lime-trees at Lutzen. 
Thousands are wearing themselves away physically and 
mentally in order to attain the dear satisfaction of being 
lionized, and yet if they would pack their effects into a knap- 
sack and come over the ocean they could enjoy that pleas- 
ure at less expense. Every interval in the dealing out of 
beer the landlord devoted to conversation with me, and 
whenever a fresh lot of topers came in he would say in much 
the same tone that the menagerie exhibitors use : " This is 
an American ; he was born in America ; his parents are still 
in America ;and he is going back to America. Gentlemen, 
this is an American. " Then followed universal admiration 
and numberless questions. I was finally compelled to tear 
myself away, for otherwise I should have spent many hours 
in "waiting just a little longer, " The landlord gave me 
directions as to the shortest way across the fields, asked me 
to write to him and bade me a solemn farewell. 

I walked six miles to Corbetha station, but did not have 
enthusiasm enough to go five miles farther to Rossbach, 
where "old Fritz," with 22,000 men, defeated a combined 
force of 60,000 French and German troops, on the 5th of 
November, 1757. I contented myself with looking across 
the plain and thinking of those doggerel verses in which the 
people celebrated the result : 

"And when the famous Fred'riek comes, 

And pats upon his trousers, 
Then run the royal regiments, 

The French and their carousers." 



245 

As there was no train in the evening I walked six miles to 
Merseberg and went the following morning to Halle. 

After spending a couple of hours there I again entered 
the train and rode across the monotonous country toward the 
Elbe. Late in the afternoon we passed the river and stop- 
ped at the station at Wittenberg, where I dismounted. 

My course in Europe has been somewhat erratic, but 
there are a few places which 1 wished to visit especially, and 
Wittenberg is among the number. If all the great past in 
German history was blotted out, if modern Tetzels still sold 
drafts on the grace of God unopposed, Wittenberg would 
nevertheless be a name forever famous, and its connection 
with Hamlet would preserve its memory to the latest gen- 
eration. But Wittenberg was not destined to exist through 
the ages like a geographical name in a Homeric oration. It 
has woven itself into the vital interests of our race, and will 
ever be remembered and blessed as a signal post in the eter- 
nal progress of the human mind. However much the prin- 
ciples then set forth may be modified, the child will not for- 
get the parent and free man will ever look with thankful 
hearts toward Wittenberg, where the sturdy pioneers struck 
boldly and manfully to vindicate the right of individual 
thought. 

The city at present contains 12,500 inhabitants and lies 
about a quarter of a mile from the Elbe. Down to 1875 it 
was a fortress of the empire and the large earthern walls 
and ramparts are almost entirely preserved. The broad 
ditch has degenerated into an ugly morass which cannot be 
beneficial to the sanitary welfare of the people. The road 
from the station crosses the trench upon a solid embankment. 



2^6 

and enters the city by the Elster Gate. Immediately adjoio- 
ing the wall upon the left is a large building called the Au- 
gusteum, now a theological seminary ,which contains the por- 
tion of the old Augustinian monastery which Luther used as 
a private dwelling. I entered the main door and crossed 
the inner court to the wing opposite the entrance, which 
bears the memorial tablet, recording the fact that "Dr.'* 
Martin Luther lived and worked there from 1508 to 1546^ 
It is remarkable with what tenacity the Germans persist in 
prefixing the academical title to the reformer's name. When 
one is venerated in English we designate him by a single, 
simple word, feeling coijvinced that there is no danger of his 
being lost in the crowd. "Mr." Moses scarcely startles us 
more than "Mr." Shakespeare or "Mr." Milton . Doctor 
Johnson is the only person in our literature, whom I can 
think of, who has been coupled with a college title, and that 
is undoubtedly because Boswell has preserved the conversa- 
tion of his contemporaries.' 

When Luther came to Wittenberg from Erfurt in 1508 
to take the chair of philosophy in the university, he Hved in 
the monastery, and after the reformation had changed the 
order of things, the Elector of Saxony presented him the 
house for his own use . The custodian shows several large 
halls which have been restored in the ancient style, and 
which contain a number of portraits of distinguished men 
of that century. One of these apartments is destined to 
contain the Luther Museum, in which the scattered memen- 
tos of the great reformer are to be collected. 

From here the custodian conducted me to the family 
apartments which are in the second story and face the court- 



HI 

yard. After passing a small ante-room, we entered the 
principal chamber which was the scene of the various do- 
mestic as well as the intellectual labors of the reformer. The 
ceiling, wainscot and floor are all old, and the entire apart- 
ment bears a strong resemblance to the main room of the 
peasant's house of to-day. The windows contain the orig- 
inal panes, which are small and round like the bottom of a 
bottle . They are so imperfect that it is impossible to see 
through them, but this want is supplied by little doors which 
may perhaps be better designated as peep holes. By one 
of the windows there is a rudely constructed double chair 
in which Luther and his Catharine sat face to face in the 
sweet hours of leisure. In the center of the room stand the 
large family table with sHding top which served for the va- 
ried needs of household economy. In one corner is a large 
stove made of tiles which bear reliefs representing the apos- 
tles and allegorical figures from designs by Luther himself. 
In another room, which is much smaller, there are some rel- 
ics of the reformer. Besides a couple of the inimitable 
drinking cups, there are some specimens of embroidery by 
his wife, one piece representing his portrait. On the wall 
hangs a full length picture of Luther which was printed 
from a wood engraving by Hans Lust, the first printer of 
Wittenberg, who also published the first editions of Luther's 
translation of the Bible, and his other writings. 

This interesting suite of rooms has attracted a great many 
visitors. October 14th, 1 712, Peter the Great inspected the 
historic place and wrote his name on one of the doors in 
Russian. The spot has been covered with glass and the 
characters are still visible . The Czar wanted to take Luth- 



248 

er's glass goblet with him as a memento, but it was refused, 
and so he dashed it to pieces. This is certainly a very char- 
acteristic anecdote. The fragments are still exhibited. I 
found the names of a great many Americans in the register, 
and among the others were Minister White and his wife . 
Two other fellow-country men were visitmg the place at 
the same time with me and so it seems that Wittenberg en- 
joys a fair share of the attention of Americans. 

A few houses beyond the Augusteum stands the dwelHng 
of Luther's companion and assistant, Philip Melanchthon . 
It is a tall, narrow edifice with antique gable and quaint win- 
dows. An inscription records that Melanchthon lived, taught 
and died there. 

A few steps farther brings one to the building that was 
once used by the famous University which Elector Frederick 
the Wise established in 1502. The encouragement and pro- 
tection, which Luther received froni the students, facilitated 
his work and they deserve a place in the regard of posterity. 
In 18 1 7 the University was incorporated with that of Halle 
and the building is now used as an infantry barrack. 

In the square before the old town hall stands Schadow's 
statue of Luther and Drake's statue of Melanchthon, each 
under a Gothic baldachin. The former is considered an ex- 
cellent representation and the pedestal bears Luther's words: 
"If it is the work of God, it will stand ; if it is the work of 
man, it will fall. " 

In the southwest corner of the square stands the dwelling 
house of the famous Lucas Cranach, the painter, who has 
immortalized the features of Luther and many of the Saxon 
princes. He died in 1533. 



H9 

The last building toward the west upon the left side of 
this principal street is the old castle church which was 
erected in the fifteenth century. Luther preached here fre- 
quently before the conflict with the Pope and upon the 
double doors of wood which opened out upon the street he 
nailed his ninety-five theses which were so much in accor- 
dance with the spirit of the times (Zeit-Geist) that they 
spread immicdiately throughout Germany and changed the 
current of future thought. This was on the 31st day of 
October, 15 17, the birthday of the reformation. During 
the bombardment of Wittenberg in 1760 the famous doors 
fell a prey to the flames. In 1858 King Frederick William 
IV. caused them to be replaced by metal doors bearing a 
copy of the theses in the Latin original. 

In the church opposite these doors are the graves of 
Luther and Melanchthon. They are marked by small 
tablets of bronze which lie a few inches below the level of 
the pavement and are usually covered with wooden lids. 

Monarchs too have stood by this grave and even enemies 
of the reformer have felt a worthy respect for the dead. 
When Charles the Fifth captured the city in 1557? during 
the Schmalkalden war, he asked to see the grave of the 
brave man who had met him without fear at Worn^s and 
resisted him throughout his life. As the monarch stood in 
solemn silence before the narrow tablet which covered the 
ashes of his enemy, that conscience-forcer and thousand- 
murderer, the Duke of Alva came forward and asked that 
the heretic's bones be dug up and burned. Then the Em- 
peror turned to that fiend — and Charles the Fifth never was 
greater than in that moment: "Let him rest in peace," said 



250 A student's views abroad. 

he, "I make war with the living, not with the dead." If the 
Duke of Alva had had one drop of noble blood in his 
veins he would have slunk away to some dark corner where 
the sun could never shine. 

The pulpit from which Luther preached is still preserved 
and is used at the present day. Before the altar are the 
tombs of two Saxon electors, covered with large bronze re- 
liefs. One marks the resting place of Frederick the Wise, 
who was Luther's patron and friend. Just outside of the 
Elster Gate to the left of the road leading to the station, 
stands a tall oak surrounded by a small park. A tablet re- 
cords that Dr. Martin Luther burned the papal bull of ex- 
communication on that spot, December 10, 1520. This act 
placed an impassable gulf between him and Rome . I spent 
the rest of the evening of my visit in walking down to the 
Elbe, and rambling through the meadow . When it be- 
came dark I returned to the quiet town and sought a hotel. 
The next morning I came on to Berlin. 

The traveler who walks through Berlin's famous street 
Unter den Linden for the first time, must ever be impressed 
with the magnificence of the German Capital. At the 
western extremity of the thoroughfare stands the stately 
Brandenburg Gate, an imitation of the Propylae at Athens, 
which is surmounted by a car of victory, that was carried 
off to Paris by Napoleon in 1807 but recovered in 1814. 
From this point the broad avenue extends toward the east 
with two fine rows of lime-trees in the middle from which 
it derives its name . On each side rise palaces, dwellings 
and grand hotels and at the crossings of side streets one ob- 
tains glimpses of long lines of glittering shops which ex- 
tend away as far as the eye can reach. 



251 

At the western end of the avenue of lime-trees stands 
Ranch's great equestrian statue of Frederick which is re- 
garded as the finest monument in Europe . To the right is 
the plain palace of the Emperor, and back of it the royal 
library. To the left are the academy and university build- 
ings. And then before one stretches out a long square and 
the view is terminated in every direction by numerous stat- 
ues of warriors and palaces and public buildings. Critics 
may find fault with the details but every stranger is sensi- 
ble of the magnificence of the combined effect. Although 
Berlin has such rivals as Dresden and Munich everyone 
must acknowledge that she is a worthy head of the empire. 

As one advances farther and crosses the bridge over the 
Spree, which is adorned with statues, he obtains a view of 
the old royal palace upon the right and the grand colonnade 
of the museum upon the left. Statues of famous generals 
rise in ever}' directien, for this is the Walhalla of a military 
nation. Where one finds one monument to a private per- 
son he meets a dozen to soldiers. Lessing and Kant have a 
place in the groups en the pedestal of the statue of Fred- 
erick the Great but it is at the rear part, which is ver\^ 
characteristic. 

The old royal palace is an immense rectangular edifice of 
dingy appearance which is like many similar structures the 
result of the labors of several centuries . It has two broad 
courts and several lofty gateways, which give some idea of 
the pompous stiffness of the "good old times." The palace 
is used now principally on grand occasions and its magnifi- 
cent salons form one of the chief sights of Berlin. 

The old museum contains a collection of antique sculp- 



252 A student's views abroad. 

tures upon the ground floor and a gallery of paintings upon 
the floor above. The new museum stands just back of the 
old one and is connected with it by a gallery which passes 
over the intervening street. It is magnificently arranged 
and the walls are covered with frescoes, some of which are 
masterpieces of art. The upper floor contains a very full 
collection of casts from famous sculptures of all ages. The 
ground floor contains a fine ethnographical museum which 
affords a good idea of the civilization of India, China and 
Japan . Next to this is a collection of northern antiquities 
which have been found at different places in Germany. 
From these the specialist can form an acquaintance with the 
habits of that sturdy race which resisted the progress of the 
proud Romans. 

But by far the most valuable and interesting collection 
is the Eg3^ptian museum, which is one of the best of the 
kind in Europe. It owes its existence mainly to the labors 
of the famous Egyptologist Eepsius who brought most of 
the articles with him upon his return from his scientific re- 
searches in the land of the Pharoahs. 

The Berlin University is established in a large building 
nearly opposite to the dwellings of the Emperor and 
Crown Prince. It was formerly the palace of Prince Hen- 
r}^, brother of Frederick the Great and was presented to 
the University in 1809 by Frederick William III. It is of 
the approved style of palaces, and consists of three wings 
which form the three sides of a rectangular court, leaving 
the fourth side open toward the street . It requires but a 
glance to determine that the place is now a university for 
the students are always standing around the doors, like bees 
about a hive. 



253 

Berlin is without doubt the worst police ridden town in 
Germany. Perhaps the proximity of Bismarck had some 
influence in causing this . In order to look at the books in 
the public reading room of the royal library one is compell- 
ed to exhibit his passport. I have been in a good many 
libraries but this is something new to me. One is treated 
better by the librarians even in Austria, that benighted land 
where every country inn keeper and cross-road policeman 
has the right to demand a passport. 

I never had any disagreeable experience with the anti- 
quated use of passports in Germany until I came here, I 
have a room m a private family and was compelled to take 
my passport to the police headquarters when my arrival was 
reported. The officer questioned me closely as to how long 
I was in Vienna and other points which I have touched dur- 
ing my travels. Under similar circumstances in Austria, 
It'dly or other parts of Germany one is only required to 
state his name, age, residence and profession to his landlord 
who reports them to the. police. I am thoroughly convinced 
that the freedom of moving around is not the least valuable 
liberty which we enjoy in America. 

The Prussians may without dispute claim that they have 
come nearer than any other nation to reducing man to a 
machine. The ambition of everyone is to get a place where 
he will have a fixed monotonous task, that requires no enter- 
prise, but which affords a regular salary and a pension. 
These men seem to think a uniform the natural garb of the 
male portion of the human race. Not merely the thousands 
of soldiers have a military appearance, but men of many 
different classes . I suppose if a Prussian were to awake 



254 A student's views abroah, 

some time and find himself in citizen's dress in a free country 
he would be more astonished than the drunkard who was 
washed and put into the duke's bed and when he awoke from 
his stupor was treated like the duke himself and told that he 
had long been sick. 

In traveling about 1 find a great many little variations in 
the customs. Each one laughs at the expression of his neigh- 
bor but I accommodate myself to each as it comes. For in- 
stance the Austrian never says adieu or anything similar . 
When he parts with friend or foe he always says,, " I rec- 
ommend myself, " as though one would think any better of 
him because he recommended himself. Many, many years 
ago, when Berlin was smaller and the waters of the Spree 
were clearer, the natives were accustomed to sa} to each 
other at the eating hours, <^ blessed is the meal time, " or 
some similar greeting as is peculiar to the eupeptic Ger- 
mans. But in these latter days the matter is shortened and 
the people merely say "meal time," taking for granted that 
it is blessed . When I go to the restaurant for dinner, my 
fellow-boarders look up from those immense fruit dishes 
which they misuse as beer glasses, and say " meal time ! " 
And then like a Roman in Rome I say " meal time ! " just 
as though everyone after a European breakfast was not dis- 
tinctly conscious that the hour for dinner was at hand. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

FROM GERMANY TO SWEDEN. ACROSS THE BALTIC.-— STOCK- 
HOLM. ^A TRIP TO UPSALA . -—SWEDISH LIQUOR LAWS. 

Stockholm, Sweden, August pth, i8So. 

I left Berlin after an eighteen days' visit, by train for 
Stettin, where I embarked on the steamer Tilsit for Stock- 
holm. We started at one o'clock, but it was almost dark 
when we reached the sea. The Oder expands at its mouth 
into a large lake called the Ha£f, which is separated from the 
Baltic by two extensive islands. After spending a couple 
of hours in descending the river and crossing this body 
of water we entered the channel between the two islands 
and finally reached Swinemuende, a town at its outlet, where 
an hour was consumed in taking on freight. The light- 
house lantern was already burning as we at last steamed out 
into the Baltic, and the pilot with his Httle boat dropped into 
the rear. 

The Tilsit is a small vessel, and the officers and crew 
have not that supreme contempt for the rest of the human 
race which is characteristic of the sailors on the Atlantic. 
As night came on a portion of the men and some of the 
passengers formed in groups in the friendlv warmth of the 
funnel and then began the usual inquiries of Germans as to 
whence, whither and why. When one speaks with a sailor 
on the ocean he almost invariably finds that he has circum- 



256 

navigated the globe a dozen of times, and made numberless 
other voyages, but these Baltic seamen have never passed 
the Skager Rack and know as little of the mysteries of the 
Atlantic as the veriest backwoodsman in America. When 
it came my turn to inform the German assembly where I 
had come from, the old weather-beaten tars shook their 
heads in wonder and said, "My, how a man can travel in the 
world!" 

The first night at sea passed quietly enough and when I 
awoke the next morning we could see the little island of 
Bornholm which at present belongs to Denmark. Later we 
saw Oland but Gothland was too far to the east to be visi- 
ble. 

On the afternoon of the second day the islands on the 
coast opposite Stockholm came in sight. After taking a 
pilot on board we entered the inlet which leads to the Swe- 
dish capital. All around us lay innumerable little islands of 
primeval granite. Not a rent nor upheaval could be de- 
tected in the adamantine substance. Millions of years have 
chipped small fragments off here and there and the glaciers 
and floods of the ages have worn away the angles until all 
has a rounded outline, but the dark colored granite bears 
the grim look of eternity. A stunted growth of pine has 
found root in the shallow depth of soil that has lodged in 
the hollows but is insufficient to conceal the dusky rock. 
Upon the outermost headland lies a mean little village which 
is peopled by pilots, fishermen and government officers. Af- 
ter passing this we went for miles without seeing a human 
habitation. The channel sometimes broadened into a lake, 
while at other places there was scarcely room to pass. But 



A student's views abroaix 257 

everywhere the scenery was the same . All around us the 
low granite islands with their fringes of pine terminated the 
view. Although the weather was pleasant the scene wore 
a look of winter which almost made one shiver. At such a 
place, under the influence of these peculiar surroundings 
one could easily become en wrapt in dreams of Thor and 
Wodin and all the gods of the northern heaven . 

Stockholm has an exceedingly beautiful situation. Some 
call it the Swedish Venice, while others think it has some 
resemblance to Geneva. One of my German friends des- 
ignated it as the Northern Naples. The channel which 
connects Lake Malaren with the sea is at this point bounded 
on each side by long hills of naked rock^, and bears a num- 
ber of islands of considerable size. The city was founded 
upon the islands, which afforded protection from hostile in- 
vaders, and gave access to the extensive harbors . After 
the early wars had been succeeded by more peaceful times, 
the city expanded upon the mainland in each direction. At 
present the city has two characteristic features. The di- 
visions upon the mainland are built upon hillsides, and may 
be said to resemble Naples or Genoa, while the part be- 
tween these two, which lie upon the islands^ reminds one of 
Venice. 

On the evening of my arrival I left the Stettin steamer 
in company with a German from St. Petersburg, and after 
finding a hotel, we set out to look at the city. 

A short walk from the wharf brought us to the Royal 
Palace, which is an immense building, enclosing a court, but 
not very striking in style. Beyond this a bridge leads to a 
small island, from which the most famous places in the 



258 A student's VIEWS ABROAD . 

city can be seen . The well-known poet, Tegner, thus de- 
scribes the scene : «* How grandly do the tower, heroes' 
statues, palace and temple of the muses reflect themselves 
in the stream, and evening red over the Riddarholm, where, 
beneath marble, Sweden's honor sleeps. " 

Another bridge connects this island with a square on the 
main land which bears a monument to Gustavus Adolphus. 
A short walk brought us to another square, upon 
which stand statues of Charles XIIL, the last of the Hol- 
stein line, and Charles XII., "the madman of the North . " 
At another square where there is a statue of the famous 
chemist, Berzelius, we found a cafe that was thronged with 
visitors. It seems to me that the national traits of charac- 
ter have been changed completely. From the time of Charles 
the Twelfth back into hoar antiquity where the clear sun- 
light of historical fact disappears and the investigator is 
guided only by the dim and treacherous gleam of tradition 
and fable, back through all the ages the Swede distinguish- 
ed himself as one whose only delight was in battle. Heaven 
was reserved for those alone who died a violent death, and 
the sluggards who waited till disease consumed them were 
to go to the land of fog which was the abode of evil doers. 
Whoever attempts to read the Swedish history must be con- 
fused by the long array of kings who won the throne by 
murder and perished in turn by the knife of the assassin. It 
is like the bloody finis of the Niebelungen Lied or like the 
horrible crimes of the first royal house of France . Later 
the warlike Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus stemmed the 
victorious career of Tilly and Wallenstein and under Charles 
the Twelfth defeated many times their number of Saxons, 



A student's views abroad. 259 

Danes and Russians , But to-day the Swedish soldier is a 
very mild looking man, and the most of the people, far from 
being quarrelsome, are on the contrary very polite and 
friendly. 

One of the characteristics long held as belonging to 
the Swede is the love for strong drink. In later 
years efforts have been made to alleviate the bad effects of 
this appetite, and they are said to have been in some measure 
successful. The districts of the country have what we in Ohio 
would call local option ; that is, a majority can prohibit the sale 
of spirits. If the trade is not entirely abolished, recourse 
is had to the Gothenburg system by which a company is 
empowered by the authorities to buy all the licenses and 
control the entire sale . The officers of these companies 
have independent salaries, and the receipts, less the expenses 
and five per cent . interest, are handed over to the civil de- 
partment, which expends them in caring for the paupers 
and infirm who are the victims of drink. Thus the com- 
munity is relieved of one great burden and the vice is made 
to pay the expenses it causes. The system was adopted in 
Stockholm in 1877. 

On a headland opposite the royal palace stands the Na- 
tional Museum, a large building which contains a number of 
very fine collections which do honor to the Swedish Capital. 
The picture gallery contains about thirteen hundred paint- 
ings, which represent the various national schools, and are 
particularly rich in works of modern artists, whose subjects 
are taken principally from life among the peasants. Though 
these may have Httle artistic merit, most people will find 
them more interesting than many of the dusty works of the 



^6o A student's VIKWS ABRCAm 

old masters. It seems to be a characteristic of our age to 
seek the poetical and beautiful in every day life instead of 
aping the worn out toggery of Greece and Rome. 

Next to the picture gallery are two collections of armor 
and clothing worn by Swedish kings. The former is insig- 
nificant compared to the similar museums at Vienna, but 
there is enough of historical interest attached to the royal 
costumes to make them important in the eyes of the visitor^ 
After a hurried look at the array of faded finery one reach- 
es a case which contains some articles of clothing which 
were worn by Gustavus Adolphus and the blood stained 
sheet in which his body was wrapped after the battle of 
Lutzen. In the middle of the room stands the horse which he 
rode when he fell. Art has preserved the famous steed,and 
he looks almost as animated as he did on that eventful day» 

In a case opposite these articles are some suits which be- 
longed to Charles the Twelfth . There are a few relics of 
his stay at Bender as the guest of the Sultan. But the 
chief claim upon the vistor's interest is the costume which 
he wore when he fell in the trenches before Frederickshald, 
November 30th, 17 18. The queer looking blue coat, yel- 
low vest and trousers and long boots are all preserved, and 
in the black hat one can see the large hole through which 
the bullet passed which caused his death. 

I lingered some time looking at these relics of Sweden's 
heroes, and then went down to see the historical museum, 
which is the most valuable in the building, as it is the most 
complete of its kind in the world. I do not suppose that 
any nation has a better exhibition of its various industries, 
from the earliest times to the present, than Sweden possesses 



A student's views abroad. 261 

here. First comes the flint period, which extended from 
the remotest times down to about a thousand years before 
our era. The articles of this age are very similar to those 
which antiquarians gather in America, and represent the 
earliest devices of the human brain. Next comes the bronze 
epoch, when utensils began to be made of metal. This 
period began about a thousand years before Christ, and 
lasted until the beginning of our era. The articles are 
more varied, and display greater skill. Man is beginning 
to subdue the outer world, and instead of being a stranger, 
he became the lord. Then comes the iron age, which be- 
gan in Sweden about the first year of our era. The evo- 
lution of human ingenuity creeps gradually forward. The 
Swede feels stronger, and commerce begins. Coins from 
many European nations testify to the distances traversed by 
the venturesome Northmen. Other relics from the middle 
ages bring the historical survey down to the present time. 
Were I a Swede, I would be as proud of this museum as 
any nobleman is of his ancestral record. It is something to 
be able to trace the pi ogress of our fathers from the crude 
efforts of the flint period to the myriad sided industry of 
the present day. 

The most sacred place in Stockholm in the eyes of the 
Swede is the Riddarholm Church, which contains the tombs 
of the Kings and great Generals . The building is not re- 
markable in appearance, although the spire is quite promi- 
nent. It stands on a little island from which it takes its 
name. The interior of the church is of the usual form with 
recesses upon each side which serve as burial chapels. 
Regular service was held there down to the year 1807. 



'26'2' A STUDENT^S VrEWff ABKOAU. 

The oldest tomb is that of King Magnus Ladulas, wh© 
died in 1290. In the first chapel to the left of the altar 
rests the body of the most famous Swede, Gustavus Adol-^ 
phus. His remains are deposited in a large sarcophagus of 
green) marble. 

Opposite the chapel of Gustaviis Adolphus is that of 
Charles the Twelfth where the bones of the "madman of 
the North" repose in quiet. A recent perusal of Voltaire's^ 
excellent history of that monarch had made all the incidents 
of his eccentric career familiar to me, and I regarded hi& 
tomb with an interest which was scarcely exceeded by that 
which I felt for Gustavus Adolphus. I could not help 
thinking of the contrast between the paltry heaps of dust 
which lay inclosed in that marble casket and that wild 
being who forced a peace from the Danes, defeated myriads 
of Russians at Narva, and dethroned a Polish King, It is 
a common thought, but it is one which everyone feels when 
he stands before a hero's tomb. 

The church contains the graves of many other Kings and 
Queens, but they are hardly as well known to fame as the 
Great Gustavus and Charles the Twelfth. Among them 
are the patron of literature, Gustavus the Third, Berna- 
dotte, the founder of the reigning dynasty, and all the last 
Kings. All of the chapels and the mam body of the church 
are covered with tattered flags and drums, which are 
trophies of Swedish victories over the Danes, Prussians, 
Saxons, Poles, Austrians and Russians. The church is 
opened for visitors three times a week, but the interest seems 
to be so great in the place that it is constantly thronged with 
strangers and patriots. 



^63 

Pot a person who stays but a few days in Sweden an ex- 
cursion to Upsala is so convenient that most peopte are -able 
^o make it. Two means of communication are available, 
the steamer and the railroad . I went there by water and 
returned by the train . We left Stockholm at 9 in the 
morning, but it was half past three in the afternoon when 
we reached oar destination. The scenery was somewhat 
monotonous, but very characteristic of Sweden. Bleak 
granite hills and cheerfes forests of pine were ail that could 
be seen for miks. The steamer passed through a chain of 
long and narrow lakes that are connected by channels which 
sometimes are scarcely passable. Many hours went by be- 
fore we saw a cultivated field, but the neighborhood of Up- 
sala looks much more hospitable. Before reaching the 
city we left the lake and ascended the narrow river Fyrisa 
which is not wider than an Ohio canal. The steamer went 
very slowly and the time seemed unusually long. 

There was an excursion party on board and we all went 
together to the cathedral, which is a large edifice m the 
French style . Back of the altar is the tomb of Gustavus 
Vasa who threw off the Danish yoke and founded the in- 
dependent Kingdom of Sweden. To the right of the altar 
is the sarcophagus of Erick the Ninth, the national patron 
saint, • He was one of the founders of Swedish Christianity 
and converted the heathen temple at Upsala into a church. 
He was finally defeated and slain by the Danes in 1160, 
Not far from his tomb is the sarcophagus of John the Third, 
who murdered his brother Erick the Fourteenth. Under 
the organ loft in the back part of the cathedral lies the body 
of the celebrated naturalist Linnaeus. 



264. 

Upsala IS very famous now as a university town, and the 
library contains the only existing fragment of Bishop 
Ulphilas' Gothic translation of the Bible, which dates from 
the fourth century. As this is almost the whole source of our 
knowledge of that language,which is the basis of the German, 
the manuscript has an inestimable value. Every history of 
Germany or German literature has something to say of it, and 
I wanted to see it more than anything else in Upsala, My 
vexation was boundless when I found that it was impossible 
to see the manuscript for either love or money. 

I solaced myself as much as possible by climbing the cas- 
tle hill with a Danish student, where we had a fine view of 
the plain. Upsala was once the residence of the kings and 
the stronghold of paganism. From the elevation by the 
castle we could see the three large hills at Gamla Upsala, 
which are supposed to be tumuli of the Kmgs. They bear 
the names of three Northern Gods : Thor, Wodin, and 
Freyr. After seeing these relics of ancient Sweden we 
went to the station and took the evening train to Stockholm . 
I spent the time very pleasantly in talking with two English- 
men, much to the astonishment of our fellow-passengers. 



CHAPTER XV. 

ALONG THE FINLAND COAST . —THE SIGHTS OF ST. PETERS* 

BUKG. THE GREAT CHURCHES. THE FORTRESS OF 

SAINl^ PETER AND PAtJL.=— TYRANNV OF TtiE CZAR. 



St. Petersburg, Russia, Aug. 20tb, 1880. 
When I left Stettin for Stockholm I intended to go from 
the latter place to Christiana, Norway, by rail and then 
return to Germany, via Copenhagen, by steamer* I was 
so far from expecting to come to St. Petersburg that I had 
not the slightest desire to enter the domains of the Auto^ 
crat of all the Russias. I supposed that it would be dif- 
ficult to cross the frontiers and that the strict police regula- 
tions would be unendurable to a republican . The men on 
the steamer had a sort of indefinite idea that I was going to 
see everything in the world, but when they asked me if I 
intended to visit St. Petersburg, 1 replied in a very decided 
negative . But among my fellow passengers from Stettin 
was a German who has been for twelve years a resident of 
the Russian capital, and in conversing with him I was con- 
vinced not only of the possibility but also of the desirability 
of a trip to St. Petersburg . When he left me on the sec- 
ond day that we were in Stockholm my plans were so far 
changed that I told him I would probably follow him by the 
next boat. Accordingly 1 made prepartions to leave the 



266 A STaOENT's VIEWS ABROAD. 

Swedish capital on Tuesday, August loth. The very first 
step that I took was indicative of an entry into a different 
atmosphere. In order to be able to buy a ticket one is com- 
pelled not onty to have a passport but also to have the vise 
of the Russian consul . Thirty-five years ago in the good 
old times a similar measure was necessary everywhere in 
Europe and this formed one of the principal inconveniences 
which Taylor encountered on his first series of travels. 

When I bought my ticket my passport was taken by the 
agent and I was told that I would get it again in St. 
Petersburg. Promptly at the appointed time on Tuesday 
evening the steamer Finland cast off her lines, slowly turned 
around and then started on her course. The passengers on 
the steamer waved their handkerchiefs to their friends on 
the wharf who answered with the same enthusiasm. 

I remained on deck until twelve o'clock but up to that 
hour we were still in the group of islands which border the 
Swedish coast . The officers of the boat seemed to be in 
good humor for they sent up a number of rockets without 
any other apparent object than to please the passengers. 
The following morning I awoke at four o'clock and found 
that we were still running between low granite islands but 
they were the Alands and we were already within the Rus- 
sian empire. If one looks at the map of the northern part 
of the Baltic Sea he immediately supposes that a considera- 
ble distance of the passage from Stockholm to Finland 
would be out of sight of land. But we passed the narrow 
stretch of open water between the Swedish coast and the 
Alands by night and during the entire trip from there to St. 
Petersburg we had land in sight. The sea was as smooth 



A student's views abroad. 267 

as the most quiet river and even the most-sensitive stomachs 
had no cause to rebel. 

Toward noon the channel of a river lay before us and a 
sailor who was standing on deck near me told me that we 
were not far from Abo. Upon talking with the seaman I 
found him a good specimen of his class. He was born in 
northern Finland, and when very young he ran away from 
school and became a cabin boy on a ship. He has been 
fourteen or fifteen years from home, but has never re- 
turned although he was once at Abo where he attended a 
nautical school. At last a year ago he began writmg home 
and now he was on his way to pay his first visit. He said 
he had written a letter home from India a few weeks before 
but that his return was entirely unexpected. No one would 
know him and he would perhaps go and ask his parents 
for lodging like a stranger. He said he had been in nearly 
every country on the globe. "Were you m South America?" 
I asked, he answered yes, and then told me how he had 
seen the bombardment of a town in the Chilian war. "Were 
you in India," I asked again. "Oh yes!" he answered and 
related something about the queer native temples. And so 
It was with almost every country I could think of. He had 
been there and was able to tell a little of customs of the 
people he saw. He had circumnavigated the globe a half 
dozen times. 

As we steamed up the river the town of Abo gradually 
came in sight. The channel is bordered upon each side by 
a chain of hills and the town is built upon the slopes, being 
divided into two parts by the stream. Abo was the capital 
of Finland and seat of the university until 1827 w^hen the 



^^^ A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABUOAD. 

town was nearly destroyed by fire and has never completely 
recovered. It has at present a population of about twenty 
thousand. 

If the physical character of a country were to determine 
its nationality one might say that Finland should still be- 
long to Sweden. Both lands have the same appearance on 
the coasty bleak granite hills with a sparse growth of pine. 
The official language of the country is Swedish, but even 
in Abo one begins to see the traces of Russian customs. 
The first novelty that met our eyes was the appearance of 
the droskies or carriages that were standing on the wharf. 
The drivers wear long coats which reach to the ankles and 
are gathered about the waist by a sash or belt. A low, 
broad hat of peculiar shape completes the outfit which is 
very Russian . The droskies are open and have room for 
but one person. The horses are hitched to the vehicle in a 
manner that is universally prevalent in this country There 
are no traces . A short strap binds each shaft to the collar 
and to keep the shafts spread and pre vent them from pressing 
on the sides of the horses a stout wooden bow is used 
which passes over the neck of the animal . The Russians 
call this very practical but a more clumsy arrangement 
could scarcely be devised. 

Abo lies at sixty degrees and twenty-six minutes north 
latitude and is undoubtedly as near to the pole as I shall 
ever ago . But notwithstanding this, the weather was,I be- 
lieve, the warmest I have encountered in my travels. As 
the steamer lay six hours at the wharf I could think of no 
more comfortable way of putting in the time than by taking 
a bath in the river. This would have been far from pleas- 
ant upon the same latitude in Greenland. 



269 

Toward evening we left Abo and again entered the maze 
of granite islands. Early next morning we arrived at 
Hango and at noon we reached Helsingfors where another 
halt of six hours was made . This city is the capital of 
Finland and the seat of the university. The coast is forti- 
fied for miles on each side of the harbor and six monitors 
and a few other war vessels were Iving in the roads . The 
two most prominent buildings in Helsingfors are the Greek 
Catholic Cathedral and the Senate House. Both stand 
upon elevations above the city and make quite an imposing 
appearance . The church has five towers resplendent in 
gilt which glitters in the sun. The Senate House is not so 
gorgeous, especially upon nearer examination, but still looks 
very well from a distance. 

Finland is quite distinct from Russia, the Czar being but 
a grand duke. It has a different coinage and a representa- 
tive system like that which Gustavus Adolphus gave to 
Sweden . It is considered the best administered province 
in the empire. The people have a more pleasing character 
than the Russians and ninety-eight per cent, of the popula- 
tion are Protestants. 

In the evening our steamer turned her head once more 
toward the sea and we soon passed the monitors and forts 
bristling with cannon. The next day at noon we reached 
Viburg where I spent the two hours of our stay in walking 
around the walls and looking at the hideous old castle. 

The following morning we passed Cronstadt, the advance 
guard and sea haven of St. Petersburg, and the two hours 
later we reached the city. Fog and rain made the outlook 
anything but encouraging. The gilded spires, which at 



270 

other times have such a splendid appearance, were lost in 
the mist. But finally the weather improved and after our 
passports had been carefully examined and duly stamped we 
were allowed to go ashore and form our first impressions of 
the city. 

St. Petersburg lies on both banks of the Neva in a low 
plain which has the double disadvantage of being subject 
to inundations and difficult of drainage. The gilded spires 
of its Greek churches made an imposing appearance in the 
distance, and one's expectations are not disappointed upon a 
nearer approach. Its streets are as broad as those of an}/ 
city in America, and its houses are in general well built. It 
is intersected by a number of canals and the Neva and its 
branches afford good water communication with the differ- 
ent parts of the city. The main river is crossed by two fine 
iron bridges and two bridges of boats . Below all these lie 
the larger steamers and sailmg vessels which navigate the 
Baltic . Above them are the river craft, the lumber rafts 
and the fiat boats which are used to bring down a cargo and 
are then sold for fire wood. 

The most prominent features of a Russian city are the 
gilded spires of its temples, and the uppermost characteristic 
of the people is their religion. When I left the Stockholm 
steamer I crossed the lower bridge, upon which stands a 
Greek shrine which cost milhons of roubles . Every minute 
one sees the natives bowing before the image. They cross 
themselves three times and bend their bodies profoundly 
while doing so. The better classes perform this act of de- 
votion very unobtrusively, but the peasants bow until their 
heads almost touch the pavement, while their long, straight 



27T 

hair flies in the wind, making with their uncouth garb a very 
strange appearance . Every house and shop in Russia has 
a shrine and burning lamp near the door and strangers al- 
ways bow and cross themselves before they address the in- 
habitants. I am acquainted with a German whom J met 
in Stockholm and he told me that his Russian visitors al- 
wa3^s look around the room for the shrine and upon faihng to 
find it they bow anyhow. He further said that some of his 
German acquaintances keep images and lamps near the 
door in order to accommodate the natives. 

The Russians have an irresistible thirst for whisky, and I 
have never seen so many drunken men in any city as in St . 
Petersburg. On Sunday or a holiday, and the later comes 
as often as the former, one sees the streets thronged 
with staggering people. They rarely, however, display 
any warlike spirit, but hug and kiss each other in a very 
loving style. Russia must be the cheapest place in the 
world to get drunk, for the people get the most insignificant 
wages, and yet indulge in that luxury oftener than the 
princely paid American laborers could afford. Among my 
acquaintances here is one of our fellow citizens, who is by 
no means addicted to temperance principles. I have fre- 
quently gone with him into the doggery on the corner, and 
have there observed that the natives always uncover their 
heads, bow and cross themselves in adoration of the shrine 
over the bar just before they drink a four-finger glass of 
whisky. A German remarked to me that they will go to 
church and worship the images with all the unction of a 
saint, and then rob the contribution boxes. Of alJ the 
countries which I have yet visited, I think Russia lies in the 
thickest fog of superstition. 



272 

The south side of the Neva, near the center of the city, 
is bordered by a row of buildings which form the chief feat- 
ure of the capital. The middle one is the immense winter 
palace which the Nihihsts have made quite notorious. There 
is nothing now visible to indicate that an explosion had ever 
taken place. The palace faces the river upon one side,and 
upon the other looks out upon a square in which rises the 
Alexander column commemorating the events of the Na- 
poleonic wars. It is of Finland granite, and is said to be 
the largest monolith in existence. 

Upon the east side of the winter palace, and connected 
with it, stands the hermitage which was built by Catharine 
the Second, and now contains the chief art treasures of St. 
Petersburg. These include some very valuable paintings, 
and some ancient and modern sculptures. I went one morn- 
ing to look at these, but they would not admit me without a 
passport. As the police were at that time sitting upon 
mine, I could not accommodate them. Two days later 1 
went with a sealed declaration from my landlord that my 
papers were all correct, and upon this evidence I was at 
length admitted. The halls are elegantly fitted up, and in 
any other city would be crowded every day with visitors. 
But the hand of despotism is upon the throat of Russia and 
1 felt really glad when I was out of her imperial halls, even 
though they are filled with choice specimens of art. 

The finest church in St. Petersburg is the magnificent 
Isaac's, which is loaded with georgeous ornaments . Each 
side has an entrance and a colonnade of Finnish granite 
monoliths. The edifice is surmounted by four small towers 
at the corners, and an immense dome in the center, all being 
covered with gilt . 



A student'^ views AB1R.OAD* '2^3 

The Kasan Cathedral is second in elegance in the city, 
and is an imitation of St . PetePs at Rome, Even the cir- 
^cular colonnades have been reproduced, though all upon a 
smaller scale. The interior is decorated with the usual 
style of pictures which one sees in a Greek church, and be- 
dsides these the walls are hun^ with captured flags. Op- 
posite the altar hang twenty-eight keys of cities that were 
taken by Russian arm&o 

Altftough these two churches are undoubtedly the most 
magnificent in the capital, still the churcli of Saints Peter 
and Paul is the most interesting. It stands within the 
citadel, which was founded by Peter the Great, and 
which lies almost opposite the Winter Palace. 
It contains the tombs of the imperial family since the founda- 
tion of the city. The sarcophagi are nearly alike, being all 
of plain white marble. To the left of the altar lies the body 
of Peter the Great, the founder of the modern Empire, I 
have visited the hut in Holland where he lived as a common 
laborer, and I have stood at the grave of his opponent, 
Charles the Twelfth, of Sweden. So it was with more than 
usual interest that I viewed the last resting place of the 
greatest Czar. The Russian nation owes much to Peter 
the Great, but the evils which it at present suffers perhaps 
originated in him too. He devoted his life to the instruc- 
tion of his people, but he and his successors persisted in 
treating them as children. If such is to be their condition 
it were better to have left them in ignorance so that they 
would never have known of their thraldom. Since I have 
been in St. Petersburg the " third section '^ or secret police 
service has been abolished. The papers are loud in their 



274 A student'.s views abroad. 

eulogies of the magnanimity of the Czar, but it seems to me 
like a man who owes you a million dollars claiming honor for 
paying you ten cents. I have talked with a number of set- 
tlers in Russia, and the universal opinion is that the govern- 
ment is rotten from rind to core. An English book-seller 
told me emphatically that any handful of men picked up on 
the street at random would form a better administration 
than the present one. The world is too old for an unlimited 
despotism, and Russian tyranny must bend or break. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

VISIT TO COPENHAGEN. — "THE PLATFORM OF THE CASTLP: OF 

ELSINORE." LUBECK. HAMB 

IN THE TENTOBURGIAN HILLS. 



On Friday, August 27th, I left St. Petersburg by steamer 
and reached Lubeck, Tuesday, August 31st. At four 
o'clock on the afternoon of the next day, I embarked on the 
Danish steamer Najaden for Copenhagen. After descend- 
ing the uninteresting Trave, which required a couple of 
hours, we reached the open sea. Night soon came on, and 
there were no waves of consequence enough to disturb our 
slumber. About seven o'clock the next morning Copen- 
hagen appeared rather suddenly before us, and a few min- 
utes later the steamer was lying at the custom-house wharf. 
I opened the little satchel which hung from my shoulder and 
showed the examining officer the contents (two books, a 
piece of soap and a clothes brush), and he at once allowed 
me to pass without contributing anything to the revenues of 
the kingdom. 

The streets of the capital were rather quiet, as the Danes, 
Swedes and Russians do not get up very early in the morn- 
ing. The city has a dingy appearance, and most of the 
thoroughfares are as crooked as a cow path . The people 
have a different physiognomy from the Germans, and bear 



2^6' A STI/DENtV VIEWS ABRaAU. 

almost as" dose a re&ernblance to the Swedes as their laiu 
guage. 

I walked about without caring much whkber and happen- 
ed upx)o a number of statues in the public square and finally 
came to the Christiaosborg Palace which is the residence of 
the reigning sovereign . It is a large square building whose 
exterior is nat particularly attractive. Back of it stands a 
gloomy looking edifice in imitation of the ancient Italian tombs,, 
which contains the most valued treasures which Copenhagen 
possesses. It is the far famed Thorvaldsen Museum. The 
rectangular structure encloses an open court in the center of 
which lies the grave of the great Danish sculptor whose 
masterly chisel has contributed to the adorning of every civ- 
ilized land^ A few vines grow above his head and his name 
is engraved on the curb stone which surrounds them, but all 
is severely simple. Yet I doubt if a hero in this wide world 
reposes more royally than does this same artist her:i. For 
in the halls around him are models and copies of all his 
works, forming a collection which is the pride of every Dane 
and an object of admiration to every stranger. Never was 
a tribute more fitly paid to a man of genius than this, and 
the example might well be followed by other lands. Many 
of the sculptures were already known to roe from having 
seen the originals in my travels. 

Besides these models and copies the museum also contains 
Thorvaldsen's private collection of paintings and antiquities 
and his library and furniture . Among the pictures I found 
many of Italian life and as the dirt and fleas were man}^ 
miles away, I admired them very much. Thorvaldsen was 
eighteen years in Italy and some of the paintings represent 
scenes in which he figures. 



A student's views abroad. 277 

The second wonder of the Danish capital is the museum 
of northern antiquities, which is the finest of its kind in ex- 
istence. It contains about forty thousand articles, arranged 
in chronological order and representing every department 
of northern civilization from the earliest discovered relics 
down to the middle of the seventeenth century . I thought 
the similar museum in Stockholm almost unsurpassable, but 
this Danish one is much finer and fuller. The articles are 
arranged in five periods : The flint, down to B. C. 1500 ; 
the bronze, down to A. D. 250 ; the iron ; the mediaeval, 
from about 1030 to 1536 ; and the modern, down to 1660. 
Perhaps the most interesting is the bronze period, which 
shows that a higher civilization existed in Scandinavia two 
thousand years ago than we are accustomed to believe. 
The weapons and utensils have an elegance of finish which 
could scarcely be more than rivaled at the present day. 
Even at that remote period these northern barbarians, whom 
we think of as bearded heathen, had reached such a degree 
of refinement that they had invented razors. The intelligent 
attendant at this department told me that a gentleman had 
made the experiment of shaving with one of the bronze 
razors, and had shown that it was just as possible to do such 
a thing now as it was two thousand years ago, when Shef- 
field was still a howling wilderness, and Wade & Butcher 
had never been heard of. 

A number of grave mounds have been opened, and in 
some of them skeletons were found encased in wooden cof- 
fins. The well-worn black burial robes are still preserved 
and give a favorable idea of the skill in weaving at that 
period. In some of the coffins they found little boxes, which 



278 A student's views abroad. 

among other articles, contained some combs. Perhaps some 
young gallant took this precaution in order to be able to 
arrange his disordered locks after the long journey into the 
next world, in order to meet with becoming dignity his lady 
love in the golden halls of Walhalla. 

On the morning of the second day I set out to make a 
little excursion into the northeastern part of Zealand. As I un- 
fortunately had not time enough to take the steamer on the 
sound I was compelled to goby rail. The road makes along 
curve into the country and passes by several small lakes. I 
had expected to find the land flat like Holland, but it is roll- 
ing, and one sees hills of considerable size. After a pleasant 
ride of two hours, we arrived at Helsingor, which was the 
limit of my journey. This is a commercial town of eighty- 
five hundred inhabitants, and is situated at the narrowest 
part of the straits between Denmark and Sweden. I passed 
through the place, merely glancing at the old town hall and 
went direct to the old fortress of Kronborg. This consists 
of a large building with quaint gables, which is surrounded 
by strong walls and moats. Its guns command the entrance 
to the Baltic and were once the means of collecting the un- 
just toll which Denmark levied upon all vessels passing 
through the sound. In 1857 this usurped right to tax ships 
was renounced in consideration of seventeen and a half mill- 
ions of dollars, which was paid by the Baltic Nations. 

On the side of the fortress next to the Straits, there is a 
flag battery, where the national colors are constantly display- 
ed. Visitors are admitted to this point, which commands a 
good view of the Sound, with its numerous sails, and the 
hilly coast of Sweden on the opposite side . This battery 



A student's views abroad. 279 

is said to be "the platform of the castle of Elsinore," where 
the ghost appeared to Hamlet . I spent the few minutes 
spare time I had in watching the surf from the North ^ea 
breaking upon the beach, and then I returned to Copen- 
hagen. After climbing the Round Tower by its winding 
cause- way, and obtaining an excellent view of the ugly red 
roofs of the city, I embarked upon the steamer Ellida for 
Lubeck . The next morning, after being delayed five hours 
by the fog, we reached that place, and so I finished my brief 
excursion to Denmark. 

Whether one approaches the city of Lubeck from the Bal- 
tic or by the railway, the lofty spires of its churches apprise 
him from afar of the nearness of the town, and indicate even 
in the distance that it possesses an unusual style of architec- 
ture. The place has been a free city since 1226, and was 
one of the chief founders of that great Hanseatic League, 
which united eighty towns beneath its banners, and did so 
much in elevating the common people of Northwestern Eu- 
rope. It had factories in the great w^orld market of London, 
as well as at Novgorod, on the borders of the wilds of Rus- 
sia. Its armies conquered and garrisoned Southern Swe- 
den and Denmark, and so far broke the spirit of Danish 
tyranny that the League obtained the proud privilege of 
ratifying the elections of the Kings. When one works in 
the profession of his choice, wealth, in the broad sense of 
the word, is the measure of worth, and so it came that these 
free cities abounded in able men of enlightened minds and 
broad sympathies, who were munificent patrons of literature 
and art. All the Hanseatic towns have succumbed to the 
times and been incorporated in other territories, except Lu- 



28o A student's views abroad. 

beck, Hamburg and Bremen, which have succeeded in pre- 
serving their independence down to the present day. 

The churches of the city are built of brick in a massive 
style which has been much imitated in the neighboring 
region. The finest of these edifices is the immense church 
of St. Mary which was erected by the citizens to outrival 
the Cathedral of the Bishop. The interior is adorned with 
elaborate monuments to the men who faithfully served the 
city. A grave in the church of St. Mary formed doubt- 
less no small part of the ambition of a native burgher . 

The walls are adorned with some paintings of artistic 
value and a few that are interesting from their quaintness . 
Back of the high altar is a very curious astronomical clock 
which attracts numerous visitors at noon when figures rep- 
re sentmg the emperor and electors appear. I went there 
at the appointed time, and found quite a miscellaneous crowd 
assembled. There were some honest burghers' children, a 
few Englishmen with red faces and foggy voices, and a half 
dozen " Handwerker" with immense canes, rusty garments 
and unshaved faces. We all congregated in the chapel back 
of the altar and watched the indicator on the dial. Finally 
a whirring noise from the bowels of the machine announced 
that the business had commenced. After a few preliminary 
groans a figure at the top of the clock hammered twelve 
on a bell, and then the emperor and the electors came forth 
in single file from one side and disappeared on the other. 
As each one passed the figure of Christ, who was enthron- 
ed in the center, he turned toward him and bowed, which 
salute was acknowledged by a motion of the hand in token 
of benediction. The whole performance scarcely occupied 



A STUDENT*S VIEWS ABROAD . 28 1 

a minute. The clock was constructed in 1565, and repaired 
in i860. 

Almost adjoining the church of St. Mary is the old town 
hall, which was built in 1444. True to the German custom 
there is a wine cellar under the hall which* dates from the 
same period. The vaulting is very curious^^and the chimney 
piece in the apartment where bridal festivities Vv-ere held 
contains the v^arning inscription : " Many a man sings loudly 
when they bring him his bride ; if they knew what they 
brought him he well might weep." 

From Lubeck I went to Hamburg, which is the largest 
of the three free towns of the German Empire. The place 
has two distmct divisions, which are as different from each 
other as they could possibly be. The quarter adjoining the 
river is intersected by narrow alleys which almost rival the 
lanes of Naples in filth. The houses have an immense 
number of windows, and this fact together with their lofty 
gables, make them resemble the buildings of Holland. The 
people seem almost as noisy as the natives of Naples, The 
other quarter is magnificently built in modern style, and 
borders upon a lake called Binnen Alster, which is always 
enlivened by numerous sailboats, little steamers and groups 
of swans. The place seems more like a fashionable water- 
ing place, where pleasure is made the object of life, than a 
portion of a great city which is one of the largest ports in 
the world. 

The cit3MS intersected by numerous canals, which con- 
tribute toward giving it a Dutch appearance. The river is 
covered with sea-going vessels and river craft, and presents 
one of the busiest scenes of the kind which one has an op- 



282 A student's VIEWS ABROAD. 

portunity to witness. The port is entered and quitted by 
about fifty-five hundred ships annually. 

In the churchyard at Ottensen, which is a suburb of Ham- 
burg, is the grave of Klopstock, the poet, who was born 
in 1724 and died in 1803. The inscription on his tomb- 
stone, written by his ' wife, modestly calls upon Germans to 
approach the gf ave of their greatest poet. Critics are by no 
means indifferent to the merits of Klopstock, but few would 
place him upon an equal rank with Lessing, to say nothing 
of Goethe and Schiller. 

On Monday morning I continued my journey to Bremen 
where I found nothing lo interest me particularly, except 
the antique buildings at the market place and a few statues 
scattered about the city It is a clean and comparatively 
quiet place and the river contains but few boats. It is in- 
debted for its importance to its harbor of Bremerhaven, 
which is situated at the mouth of the Weser, thirty-eight 
miles from Bremen. Its shipping is not half so extensive 
as that of its sister city. Both Hamburg and Bremen 
flourish principally from their commerce with our country 
and they will continue to be familiar names to every Amer- 
ican as long as they are great channels through which our 
republic draws additions to its population from Scandinavia, 
Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. 

I went from Bremen to Herford and as there is not yet a 
railroad in the direction in which I wished to go I j^repared to 
try a tramp again. I cannot say that I felt particularly 
spirited for I had lost mv umbrella the night before and was 
not prepared to encounter either sun or rain . I may re- 
mark here that I have seen and heard of a great many peo- 



A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 283 

pie who lost umbrellas, but I believe there is nobody on 
record who has found one. 

After making some precautionary inquiries as to where I 
could board the diHgence if I gave out I slung my old knap- 
sack over my shoulder and look the turnpike toward the 
Teutoburgian Hills. It is seventeen "good" miles as the 
Germans sav, from Herford to Detmold and I exDected to be 
able to reach the latter place by evening without much ex- 
ertion, relying upon my Austrian record. The road leads 
through a fertile country which is cultivated, but scarcely 
has beaut V enough to reward One fur the fatigues of a long 
fool-journey. Next year the railroad will be finished which 
is now in process of construction, but I shall not have any 
use for it next year and so that is poor consolation. I walked 
about eight miles when it began to rain and as it was about 
noon I stopped at an inn by a tollgate to investigate the con- 
dition of the pantry. I did not find anything but the in- 
evitable "Butterbrod und Wurst,"yet that helps to keep soul 
and body together. As the rain continued to fall until an 
omnibus came along at four o'clock which was bound in mv 
direction, I concluded to ride for the rest of my journey. 
I had just seated myself down between an ugly old maid 
and a man who was smoking a horriblv strong cigar, when 
the landlord came out of the door and shouted to the driver 
" Hey there ! that's a native American, he was born in 
America." My fellow passengers stared at me for the rest 
of the ride but that is something one soon gets used to in 
Europe. 

At about six o'clock we rolled through the stony streets into 
the interesting city of Detmold. After depositing my bag- 



284 

gage in a neat little hotel I started for a walk 
to see the place . Detmold is the capital of the principality 
of Lippe-Detmold which is not any larger than one of our 
counties . Notwithstanding its smailness it was as independ- 
ent as any territory in Europe until the present German Em- 
pire was formed . Think of such a state exercising all the 
functions of government and it seems exceedingly ludicrous. 
One of our counties could raise an army big enough to 
annihilate the prince and all his subjects . Detmold has 
seven thousand inhabitants and is, I think, the finest little 
city of its size in Germany, The houses are very well 
built and the streets are broad, straight and clean . It is 
very quiet, but nevertheless has an air of a capital which 
suits it well. It seems very queer to go through such a little 
place and find the signs on the stores just like those of 
Munich, Vienna or Berlin. Nearly everybody seems to as- 
sist in supplying his majesty with necessaries and feel there- 
fore authorized in putting the princely coat of arms over his 
door in glittering gilt and cultivating a metropolitan air. 
Here is the court barber, there the court bookseller and a 
little farther is the court clothier. And so ii is all through 
the city. In the center of the place stands the residence 
palace, a structure dating from the sixteenth century. It 
has towers like an old castle and is partly covered with 
vines. The modern windows however show that it has 
been refitted to be comfortable as well as beautiful. Before 
It is a Httle park which is always open to the public. Sen- 
tinels pace to and fro at the doors and gates to guard his 
majesty from intrusion, or, as is more probable, to give the 
soldiers something to do. In the southern part of the city 



285 

upon a broad avenue stands the new palace with its care- 
fully kept garden. It looks beautiful but it is surpassed by 
many a merchant's house in America. 

After spending the night in this agreeable little capital I 
set out in the morning with favorable weather to ascend the 
Teutoburgian Hills. This is supposed to be the place where 
the first German hero, Herman, Prince of the Cherusci, de- 
stroyed the arm} of Varus in the year lo of our era. The 
Romans were decoyed into th^depth of the forest by the 
Germans who then attacked them upon all sides with a rage 
that burned in every breast against the strangers who had 
robbed them of their liberty and were trying to seal the yoke 
upon their shoulders by destro}ing their native customs 
and laws. The fabled furies were not more pitiless than 
were these exasperated barbarians. But few escaped to 
tell the dreadful tidings beyond the Rhine and for years the 
foreign yoke was broken until discord entered the native 
ranks and the great Herman himself fell a victim to the 
jealousy of a rival prince. This heroic act coupled with the 
melancholy fate of his wife and child has made the Cheruc- 
can Prince one of the most loved warriors in the German 
temple of fame. 

Many years ago the sculptor Ernst von Bandel conceived 
the idea of erecting a colossal statue to Herman on the sum- 
mit of the Teutoburgian Hills near the supposed site of his 
great victory. The artist devoted the greater part of his life 
to this task. The substructure was begun in 1838 and the 
completed monument was inaugurated August i6th, 1875 . 
This was none to soon, for the artist died in the following 
year. It stands upon the Grotenburg, one of the highest 



286 A student's vikws abroad. 

peaks of the Teutoburgian Hills, being 1162 feet above the 
level of the sea . The statue represents Herman with one 
arm resting upon a shield while the other hand holds a sword 
aloft in the air. The height of the pedestal is one hundred 
feet ; the height of the figure fifty-four feet ; the height of 
the sword's point above the helmet, thirty feet, that is, one 
hundred and eighty-four feet in all. It is larger than the 
colossal Bavaria at Munich and the builder had the additional 
disadvantage of having to ^-ect it on a hill. The cost was 
about two hundred and seventy thousand marks. 

Paths have been constructed from Detmold which facili- 
tate the ascent. The hills are covered with dense forests of 
pine. The monument is provided with an internal staircase 
and one can mount to a gallery at the top of the pedestal 
which commands an extensive view over the Teutoburgian 
Hills and the fruitful lowlands toward Herford. The statue 
itself can be ascended by internal stairs, but on account of 
the injury which the figure might suffer from their use the 
public is not admitted. 

After having seen the monument I walked about six miles 
to the Externsteine which are a curious freak of nature. 
They are a group of five slender rocks which rise perpendic- 
ularly from the earth in a row to the height of from a hun- 
dred' to a hundred and thirty feet. They look Hke towers, 
or, as some say, like gigantic teeth. Several of them can 
be ascended by steps and and afford a good view of the 
neighborhood. In one of the rocks there is a grotto thirty- 
five feet in length which seems to have been used as a 
chapel. On the outside next to the road there is a large re- 
lief of the descent from the cross which has been hewn from 



A student's views abroad. 287 

the solid rock. It is supposed to date from the year 11 15. 
Near the pillars is a small lake with rowing boats which 
contribute to make it a pleasant place of resort. 

I next walked between seven and eight miles farther to 
Bergheim which is a station on the railroad to Hanover. I 
found a very good inn there and liked it so well that I staid 
two days. 



CHAPTER XVm 



HANOVER.-— BRUNSWICK.— TRAMP OVER THE: BROCKEN. 
LOST IIS THE WOODS.— GOETTINGEN . — -CASSEL. 



I took leave of the pleasant little inn at Bergheim, near 
Detmold, where I had spent two days and a half so com- 
fortably and embarked upon the train for Hanover. The 
journey was through a beautiful valley bounded by green 
clad hills, some few of which still bear ancient signal towers 
as a reminiscence of the ruder times that are passed. We 
finally rolled into the station at Hanover which is a marvel 
of elegance and systematic arrangement. I deposited my 
baggage with the porter and set out to see the sights of the 
city. 

In America we are so used to hearing Germans condemn- 
ing each other's language as an abomniable dialect, that 
most people conclude that correctness in this particular is 
not to be found in any province of the Fatherland. But 
the matter is different here Whether one go to Swabia or 
Prussia he will be told everywhere that the purest German 
is spoken in Hanover . This fact is as firmly settled in the 
Teutonic mind as it is that the best beer is to be had in Ba- 
varia and the best wine in the vineyards on the Rhine. 

A short distance from the station is the theater which is 
one of the largest in Germany . Not far from it is the Wat- 



A STUDIENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 289 

tirloo square which contains a column in memory of the 
eight hundred Hanoverians who fell in the last battle against 
Napoleon. Upon the west side of this stands a small open 
temple which protects a bust of the famous Leibnitz who is 
buried in a neighboring church. The house in which he 
dwelt is still standing and is one of the quaintest in the city. 
Hanover also boasts of having been the birthplace of the 
great astronomer Herschel. 

The streets in the old quarter are crooked and the houses 
have an antique appearance. In all directions extend the 
handsome modern suburbs with their pleasant parks and 
broad avenues. Toward the north a broad road borders d by 
lime trees and foot paths leads to Herrenhausen Palace 
which was the favorite residence of the first two Georges of 
England After visiting the adjoining park I returned to 
the city and took the train to Brunswick. This is another 
ancient looking town whose streets were laid out before the 
straight line was considered a thing of beauty. Its walls 
have been transformed into promenades, but the city has not 
grown much beyond its old limits. The squares are adorn- 
ed with statues of various Dukes of Brunswick and a new 
monument to the fallen in the Francos-Prussian war has just 
been erected. 

Southeast of the city stands a monument which was erect- 
ed in 1837 to the memory of Schill and fourteen sergeants 
of his corps, who are numbered among the martyrs of the 
Napoleonic wars. In 1809 when the conflict began between 
the French and Austrian?, Major Ferdinand von Schill left 
Berlin with his regiment without the knowledge of the 
king in order to stir up a patriotic revolt against the tyranny 



290 

of Napoleon. But in July the Austrians were silenced at 
Wagram and the full force of the foreign foe was turned 
against the ill-fated handful of Prussians. Schill retreated 
to wStralsund. The town was besieged, taken by storm and 
the gallant Major with the most of his corps fell in the de- 
fense. The fourteen sergeants that were captured were 
brought to Brunswick and shot and buried upon the 
spot where their monument stands. Schill's body was bur- 
ied at Stralsund but his head was preserved in spirits at Ley- 
den till 1837 when it was brought to Brunswick and in- 
terred beneath the same stone which marks the resting 
place of his companions in arms. Schill is enthroned in the 
German Valhalla together with Andreas Hofer, the Tyrolese 
mountain hero, and Theodore Korner, the warrior poet of 
Dresden. 

A short distance from the grave of the patriots is the cem- 
etery of the St. Magnus parish. Among the hundreds of 
obscure graves is that of the great " thinker and poet" 
Lessing, who died in Brunswick, February 12th, 1781. The 
house in which he expired is still standing. His grave is 
marked by a horizontal slab and an upright pillar which 
bears a bas-relief. The latter, as stated by an inscription, 
was erected by the ducal theater of Brunswick in 1874. 
Next February will be the hundredth anniversary of the 
great man's death but his grave his even now kept covered 
with blooming flowers. Though these may at last perish, 
the laurels which wreathe his brow in the temple of fame 
will remain fresh forever. He led in the main an unsettled 
and unhappy life and many of his works are but fragments 
of greater designs, but his service in improving the German 



A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD . 29 1 

language and cultivating a better taste m literature was in- 
valuable. In addition to this he was a pioneer in free 
thought and one of the stoutest champions in the crusade 
against mediaeval intolerance. 

Lessing's dramas hold their place unchallenged upon 
every German stage. The people seem to receive tiiem as 
enthusiastically, as if they were new. It is gratifying also 
to see that his merit is beginning to be appreciated across 
the Atlantic. In Prof. Hosmer's beautiful History of Ger- 
man Literatnre an excellent chapter tells the principal events 
of Lessing's life and paints the ruling traits of his character. 
Miss Frothingham's translations too are making the reading 
public familiar with some of his masterpieces. A short 
time ago that strong sentence as to the possession of absolute 
truth, which Sir William Hamilton quotes, was all that was 
knov.n in England and x\merica of the greatest thinker and 
poet of the age preceding Schiller and Goethe, I have 
in my hand a ''universal" biographical dictionary which was 
printed at Hartford, Conn., in 1846. The learned author 
thereof was completely unconscious of the existence of 
Goethe, probabty the greatest poet since Shakespeare, and 
he dismissed Lessing with the following notice which would 
be thought a literary curiosity in Germany : 

"Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim, a German poet, in the time 
of Voltaire, published various things, but without judg- 
ment." 

After the project of founding a national theater at Ham- 
burg had failed Lessing accepted the position of chief li- 
brarian of the ducal library at Wolfenbuettel, a little town 
seven miles south of Brunswick. Here he remained until 



292 A student's views abroad. 

his death, poorly paid it is true, but enjoying an abundance 
of lei'iure time as well as having plenty of books. 

After attending an excellent representation of Goethe's 
Faust at the ducal theater at Brunswick, I left for the Hartz 
mountains, stopping on the way at Wolfenbuettel. It was 
raining dismally and my first care was to find the library. It 
is situated in a commodious building opposite an old palace 
which is still surrounded by a moat. It contains about 
three hundred thousand volumes and eight thousand manu- 
scripts. They have a few curiosities to exhibit . Among 
them are a couple of specimens of Tetzel's letters of in- 
dulgence, some manuscripts of Luther, his inkstand and, of 
course, his drinking glass. The museum or library in 
Germany which has not one of Luther's beer mugs is in 
equally as woeful condition as the cathedral which has not 
a piece of the true cross . If I see a few dozen more drink- 
ing vessels of the reformer I shall begm to call for the doc- 
uments. 

I spent some three hours very pleasantly in reading at the 
library. It seems to lack principally in modern literature 
and I asked in vain even for an encyclopedia of a recent 
date. Lessing's former residence stands next to the library. 
It is a small, plain house. Here he spent that happy year of 
his married life that was so soon clouded by the death of 
his wife and babe. The town of Wolfenbuettel is a drowsy 
sort of a place and I did not wonder that the great thinker 
sometimes grew tired of the monotony. 

Taking the train I arrived at Hartzburg in the evening 
and prepared to make the ascent of the Brocken. It had 
been raining all day and as a couple of days' foot journey 



A student's views abroad. 293 

in the mountains lay before me, 1 was seriously afraid that I 
should be delayed. I did not waste any time in borrowing 
trouble, however, and after spending the usual hour in talk- 
ing with the landlady about her cousins and her aunts in 
America, I betook myself to my bed of down, and slept as 
soundly as if my fate was not dependent upon the state of 
the weather of the morrow. When I awoke I was grat- 
ified with the sight of an almost cloudless sky and a bright- 
ly shining sun, which promised to speedily dry the roads and 
paths of the mountains. 

After drinking my coffee and securing a lunch I turned 
my face up grade in the hope of reaching the summit by 
by noon . My beginning was not propitious, for I took the 
wTong road as soon as possible after leaving Hartzburg. 
A friendly teamster set me right, and then the ascent be- 
gan in earnest. A steep road led me first up the Molken- 
haus. Gradually the pine clad sides of other peaks came 
in sight. The dense forests of eternal green extended in 
every direction, grand yet gloomy. The trees were drip- 
ping with moisture, and I hurried on to avoid the chill. In 
an hour I reached the summit of the Molkenhaus, 1,625 feet 
above the sea. Here the trouble began. My guide book 
said to take the path direct toward the south. There were 
two which seemed to be parallel, and I took the better one 
which, of course, was wrong. The proper way descends 
on the left side of the mountain, and crosses the Ecker. I 
went down toward the right into the Radan valley. I went 
a couple of miles without the least suspicion that I was 
wrong. I finally noticed that the legends on the finger 
boards said nothing about the Brocken, or any of the in- 



294 A student's vikws abroad. 

termediate points. A little later the path turned down the 
Radau in the direction in which I came. With the aid of 
map and compass I then found that a high mountain covered 
with a pathless pine forest was between me and my proper 
road. 

Without delay I turned about and started up the moun- 
tain side. The slope was at about an angle of forty five de- 
grees. The ground was rough, and I frequently crossed 
wet grass and moss. The dense branches of the closely 
standing trees made it damp and dark. It was very chilly, 
but I exerted myself so much that the perspiration fairly 
flowed in streams. Occasionally I threw down my knap- 
sack and stopped to rest and meditate what a downright 
fool I was, I thought just then of a great many ways in 
which I could amuse myself better than by climbing moun- 
tains . I finally reached the Ecker, which I crossed on a 
log, but failed to find the right path. I followed a road 
toward the south, but it proved merely a path of the 
woodmen, which soon was lost in the trackless forest. From 
a little clearing upon a slight elevation I caught sight of a 
distant peak, which I at once concluded was the Brocken, 
and even thought I could see some buildings on the summit. 
I headed toward it, consoling myself with, the belief that I 
was going in the right direction, even if I had not the lux- 
ury of a path. I have always thought of a mountain as a 
a pretty dry place, and had feared I would suffer from thirst 
for my appetite for water is about as insatiable as a Ger- 
man's is for beer. But it is different on the Hartz . The 
slopes are covered with a coating of moss about half a foot 
deep, which holds water like a sponge, and lets it gradually 



A student's views abroad , 295 

ooze out in the rivulets which furrow the mountains in all 
directions. The rains of the previous day had freshly 
charged this substance, and it was like wading in a pond 
when I fell into a patch of moss , To add to my difficulties, 
the trees became mere stunted bushes, whose matted 
brancheh were often an impassable barrier. And so I 
struggled along, slipping over rocks, sinking in the swampy 
moss, diving through low branches, which were invai iably 
caught by my knapsack, sending a shower of pine needles 
and water down my neck. 

After some time I reached a spot destitute of trees which 
afforded a good view of the country. A peak far to the 
east looked suspiciously like the Brocken, but there was no 
help for it, and I was compelled to ascend the mountain be- 
fore me in order to find out where I was . A change came 
over the spirit of my trouble. The swamps and forests 
were left behind. My way led over a field of immense 
boulders. I leaped from one to the other, my knapsack al- 
ways coming a couple of seconds after me and giv- 
ing me a tremendous slap on the back. Deep under the 
rocks I could hear the sound of flowing waters, and the 
sides of the crevices were lined with beautiful fern. I do 
not know where I would have gone if I had fallen between 
the boulders, perhaps to one of the witches with which 
Goethe peoples the mountain . After jumping and chmbing 
from rock to rock for some time, and being even compelled 
to use mv hands occasionally, I at length arrived at the 
summit. Just before reaching it I started up a couple of 
deer in the bushes. After relieving myself of my knap- 
sack, I scrambled to the top of one of the immense bare 



296 

rocks which I had taken for houses. Holding onto the 
flag staff while the wind was whistling about my ears 1 
could see over all the adjacent peaks and the smiling plain 
beyond. But far toward the east loomed up a still higher 
mountain, which, of course, was the Brocken. By referring 
to my map and compass I saw that I was on the summit of 
the Quitschen Berg. Between the two lies a deep and 
broad ravine. 

It was half past one when I turned my face toward the 
Brocken in earnest . A sort of path aided me at first, but 
it soon terminated in a break-neck precipice. It required 
considerable leaping to get to the bottom of the valley and 
every jump accompanied by the uncomfortable reflection 
that I would have to toil up on the other side. Alongside 
the stream I found an excellent road which I thought would 
take me to the summit in comfort. But a few hundred 
paces farther it terminated in a burning charcoal heap . 
After crossing a little clearing I again entered the trackless 
forest. The low branches and heaps of rocks often barred 
the way and the whole side of the mountain was literally 
a swamp. I was thoroughly persuaded that Goethe made a 
good choice in locating the witches' revel on the Brocken. 
In many places the deep green moss covered the boulders 
and logs and ground with a thick coat like a rich carpet 
which was wonderfully beautiful. Although I was sprink- 
led with pine needles and mud, and although both shoes 
were full of water, I still had sentimental feeling enough to 
admire the magnificent scene. At length the trees became 
smaller and smaller as I ascended, and finally disappeared . 
Then the inn on the summit suddenly became visible, and 



A student's views abroad. 297 

my trouble was at end . I do not remember just now of 
anything so welcome since I saw land after the tedious days 
at sea. It was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and 1 
had been moving since eight in the morning. This was 
double the usual time consumed in the r.scent. After a 
little refreshment and rest I ascended the watch tower. The 
Brocken is 3,417 feet above the sea. As the country is 
flat in the neighborhood, the view is limited only by the 
curvature of the earth and the cloudiness of the sky. The 
towers of the Magdeburg, Leipzig,Erfurt, Cassel, Hanover, 
and Brunswick are said to be visible in clear weather. But 
few travelers see either these or the famous specter w^hich 
is occasionally formed by the sun upon the mists, the moun- 
tain's shadow constituting the ghost . I was forced to be 
content with the general view of mountain and plain, 
which is grand. One of the watchmen on the tower, 
which belongs to the signal service, astonished the 
company by reading the time upon a church clock in a town 
far awa}- at the base of the mountains . Another fellow 
took the glass, but failed to even find the tower. Finally a 
second saw the dial and confirmed the statement of the first 
one. 

After satisfying myself I shouldered my knapsack and 
started to descend toward the south. In a little more than 
two hours I arrived at the forester's inn at Oderbruck where 
I stopped for the night. My tramp amounted to no more 
than twenty-two or twenty-three miles but it was a more grat- 
ifying journey than the distance indicates. Bayard Taylor 
slept at Oderbruck in May, 1845, when on his way to the 
Brocken . He got off the right path too, but I believe he 



298 

came out worse than I did, as he was wet from head to foot 
from the snow, 

I did not feel weary in the evening but could scarcely walk 
the next morning. I trudged slowly down to Andreasberg, 
then crossed a mountain and descended the beautiful Sieber 
valley. I reached Hertzberg at the foot of the Hartz at 
dusk, and was fortunate enough to find a train ready to leave 
for Northeim by which means I reached Goettingen the 
same evening. On the whole I do not think I can be par- 
ticularly proud of my success as a mountain tourist, 

Goettingen is a pleasant little city, but rather quiet in the 
absence of the students. Many houses bear memorial tab- 
lets marking them as the residence of various famous meo 
when at the university, which now numbers about a thou- 
sand students and has large new buildmgs. The other curi- 
osities of the city consist of a few monuments. It did not 
take long to see these and I left at noon for Cassel. This 
proved a delightful ride . The scenery was beautiful and 
the atmosphere gave the colors an oriental beauty. When 
about half way the train ran around a hill and disclosed to 
our view the quaint old town of Munden lying on the banks 
of the Fulda far below us . 

We soon reached Cassel which is situated on an eleva- 
tion by the Fulda. The valley between the town and the 
river is laid out in a large park which is much frequented. 
The promenade along the wall, which rises abruptly from 
this plain, affords a fine view of the expanse of lowland and 
the hills beyond . The atmosphere was very favorable and 
at sunset the tints of the landscape were richer than I saw 
under the much praised Italian sky. On this promenade is 



A STrDE:KT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 2^9 

the magnificent new pictuie gallery building which shows 
how highly art is esteemed by the Germans. It is one of 
the foremost collections in the country. On the Friedrich- 
Platz stands the statue of Friedrich IL, w^ho sold tweb. e 
thousand of Hessian subjects to England ^or twenty-two 
million thalers to be used in destroying American liberty. 
The statue lay for some time in a stable where it had been 
thrown by the French but was at length restored to its ped- 
estal. The contemptible tj^rant will have need of something 
more than a monument to keep his name from infamy. If 
he were to retui^n to this world he would be disagreeably 
surprised by two things. He would find the Hessians flock- 
ing to enjoy the blessings of the country which their fore- 
fathers as British hirelings sought to destroy, and he would 
see his own land in the hands of a descendent of Frederick 
the Great who presented Washington his sword as a mark 
of his esteem. 

After looking about the city I went by rail to Castle Wil- 
helmshoehe which is situated at the base of a hill. Its park, 
which is one of the finest in the world, extends away to the 
summit. There are immense fountains, lakes, temples and 
statues, in fact everything that a tyrant could bring to min- 
ister to his pleasure. The work is said to have employed 
two thousand men daily for fourteen years and to have cost 
ten million dollars. The castle was inhabited by Jerome 
Bonaparte when king of Westphalia and by Napoleon III., 
when a prisoner of war» 

After visiting the grave of the Swiss historian Johann Von 
Mueller I rode in the evening to Eisenach. The following 
morning, Sept i8th, I visited the grave of the Low German 



300 A student's views abroad. 

poet Fritz Reuter, saw the house where Luther lived with 
Frau Cotta when attending school and the house where the 
great composer Sebastian Bach was born. I next ascended 
the hill to the famous Castle Wartburg, which picturesquely 
crowns the summit. It has been recentty admirably restored 
and crdorned and has the double interest of being historically 
important and of exhibiting a mediasval stronghold as it was 
in its best days. The Wartburg was founded by Ludwig 
the Springer in 1070. In 1206 Landgrave Hermann held 
the Ssengerkrieg in the castle. This was a contest between 
the chief Mmnesingers of that age. The wife of Hermann's 
son Ludwig, Saint Elizabeth is also a famous character in 
Wartburg history. The castle is ornamented with frescoes 
of the Singers' Contest and of incidents in the life of the 
saint. Of the latter Fetridge says : " In the castle is the 
picture of St. Elizabeth of Thuringen whose husband was 
hard-hearted as she was kind and charitable to the poor. 
On one occasion when she had her apron filled with food 
which she was about to bestow on. the hungry, her husband 
caught her in the act ; and, demanding what she had in her 
apron, she replied "flowers! " when, thinking to detect her 
in a falsehood, he tore open her apron, and low and behold! 
the bread and cheese were transformed into roses andlillies. 
She stands in the picture as if trembling for fear they will 
change again. " 

Luther after a pretended abduction was brought to Wart- 
burg Mciy 4th, 1 52 1, by his friend Frederick the Wise and 
remained there until March 6th, 1522, engaged in translating 
the Bible. He raised mustaches and passed as a "Junker 
Georg. " Cranach's picture of him in this disguise at Ber- 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD , 3OI 

lin is scarcely recognizable. The room which Luther occu- 
pied is kept almost unaltered. There one still sees the hole 
made by the ink-bottle which he threw at the devil. His 
Satanic majesty does not ramble about as much as he used 
to, although the old people constantly tell us the world is 
more than ever devoted to him. Probably he has the rheu- 
matism or else blistered his feet. A couple of centuries ago 
a man did not amount to much if he had not seen the devil 
a couple of times at least. Lecky says that "in the monas- 
tery of Wittenberg, Luther constantly heard the devil mak- 
ing a noise in the cloisters ; and became at last so accustom- 
ed to the fact, that he related that on one occasion, havmg 
been awakened by the sound, he perceived that it was only 
the devil and accordingly went to sleep again. " 



CHAPTER XIX. 

WEIMAR AND ITS FAMOUS MEN.— JENA UNIVERSITY.— OVER 
THE THURINGIAN MOUNTAINS.— COBURG, BAMBERG AND 
NUREMBERG. ^BACK ONCE MORE AT STUTTGART. 



Stuttgart, Oct. ist, 1880. 
From Eisenach I went to Gotha and then to Weimar 
where I spent two days in visiting the interesting points of 
the classic city. Weimar is situated m the midst of a gently 
rolling country, lying in a hollow so that the low hills seem 
like an irregular rampart a few miles away encircling the 
town . It is the capital of the grand duchy of Saxe- Wei- 
mar and numbers some sixteen thousand inhabitants. The 
narrow river Ilm, which centuries ago may have led to the 
foundation of the place, flows along the eastern side of the 
city, enlivening the pleasant park which covers its borders. 
New f angled improvements are here and there springing up ; 
the wealthy are building modern mansions on the site of 
their ancestral halls ; stations and similar necessaries of this 
boiling age are forcing in their way, but in the main the little 
capital has much the same appearance that it had in the 
golden days. Like all old German towns it consists of nar- 
row, crooked streets, which connect a number of spacious 
squares. It is very quiet, for, apart from the lack of busi- 



303 

ness, it is true that the Germans are much less noisy than the 
French or Italians. 

I took up my quarters in a little inn but a few doors from 
Goethe's house, which is a plain, three-storied building 
opening directly upon the street and connected upon each 
side with the adjoining structures. I am afraid an irreverent 
person would call it an ugly house, but it has seen better days 
and the great poet filled it with collections of the choicest 
productions of literature and art. The genialjean Paul wrote 
thus enthusiastically of his visit to Goethe : " His house, or 
rather his palace, pleased me ; it is the only one in Weimar 
in the Italian style ; with such a staircase ! A pantheon full 
of pictures and statues !" 

Unfortunately the house is not accessible to the ordinary 
tourist, being still owned by his descendants . Though I 
could not enter, I, of course, looked with much interest at 
the dwelling of that great genius, who, as Byron said, "cre- 
ated the literature of his own country and illustrated that of 
Europe." 

Goethe is numbered among the greatest of the human 
race, and he will retain that rank in spite of the occasional 
growls of egotistical Frenchmen and of disappointed fanat- 
ics, who, as Carlyle well said, are like the man who villified 
the sun because it would not light his cigar. 

Schiller's house is about of the same size as Goethe's, and 
is not far distant. Being the property now of the city, it is 
open to visitors. One is shown the study and sleeping apart- 
ment of the poet, both of which, curiously enough, are at 
the very top of the house. There still stands the narrow 
bed upon which the afflicted Schiller breathed his last. It 



304 

is now covered with wreaths. Near by are other articles of 
furniture, among which is the writing desk of the poet. 
Perhaps it was in that same little drawer, which one still sees, 
that Goethe found the decayed apples whose odor the sickly 
Schiller considered agreeable when composing, 

A short distance from the house is the theater, a building 
of moderate size. I attended an opera one evening for the 
sake of the past. In front of the entrance stands RietscheFs 
finely conceived statue of bchiller and Goethe, represent- 
ing them side by side peacefully holding the same wreath, a 
striking reproof of tho^e wrangling critics who think the 
claims of one poet can only be maintained by disparaging 
another. 

In the center of the city is the Stadtkirche, in which 
Herder preached. In front of it is a bronze statue of him, 
designed by Schaller, and erected in 1850 by "Germans of 
all lands." Opposite the northwest corner of the church is 
the parsonage, in which the restless poet-priest lived for 
some years. He was buried upon the scene of his labors. 
A simple tablet in the pavement of the church marks his 
grave, and bears his motto, "Licht, Liebe, Leben," The 
famous hero of the Thirty Years' War, Duke Bernhard, is 
buried near by. 

On the south side of the city is the cemetery, which is 
the resting place of many famous men. The grand ducal 
vault is the most conspicuous object. It contains the re- 
mains of all the ducal family from the >ear 1662. Of 
course the most interesting is the sarcophagus of Karl Aug- 
ust, the friend as well as the patron of the four great poets, 
who have made Weimar a familiar name throughout the 



A STimENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 305 

civilized world. There are numberless sovereigns whc are 
able to entertain men of genius, but there are few that 
can give them that appreciation and encoura|.:ement which 
is more valuable than their gold. But even the sarcophagus 
of Karl August must yield in interest to the greater dead. 
For in this same vault are placed the coffins of Goethe ;md 
Schiller, lying side by side as they were joined together in 
friendship and hnked together in fame. There is no place 
more sacred in the e\es ot the student of German literature 
than thic . The devotion of the public is expressed b}^ the 
muhitude of wreaths which cover the coffins. It is remark- 
able how far away the familes of the two poets are in- 
terred. 

In the Protestant Cemetery at Rome 1 happened to see 
the grave of Goethe's son while I was hunting for that of 
Shelley. In the cemetery at Bonn i visited the graves of 
Schiller's wife and second son. 

While conversing with the attendant at the grand ducal 
vault I asked him incidentallv where Goethe's wife was bur- 
ied. He said nobody knew when or where she died, and 
added very decidedly that she was no wife for a minister. 
Donnerwetter ! Do these Weimar people still think "Herr 
Geheimrath und Kammerpraesident " von Goethe greater 
and more respectable than simple Goethe the poet ? And 
do the}^ then really imagine that he owes all his glory to the 
fact that he w^as a nobleman and minister in this little prin- 
cipality, which is a trifle bigger than your hand? As for 
the statement of the attendant, it is false. Poor Chris- 
tiana Vulpius Goethe died June 6, i8r6, nearly sixteen years 
before the poet . 



30^ ' A student's views abroad. 

Wieland's house in the town resembles Schiller's some- 
what. He has also a statue dedicated to his memory. It 
will be remembered that Wieland bought a farm once, and 
although, on account of embarrassment, it was afterward 
sold, he was allowed to be buried there. This estate is 
some six miles distant in the direction of Leipzig. 
I walked out one day over the pleasant hills. The 
grave of the poet lies on the bank of a rivulet amid the 
trees. A single stone marks the spot where He Wieland, 
his wife and his friend Sophia Brentano. It is a suitable 
resting place for the fortunate poet, whose life was as tran- 
quil as those of Herder and Lessing were stormy. 

In the parks on the banks of the Ilm there are two mod- 
est summer dwellings which Goethe occupied at various 
times. Farther toward the north is the picturesque Grand 
Ducal Palace which contains a number of rooms ornamented 
wdth paintings of scenes in the works of the four great poets. 
On the adjacent Fuerstenplatz stands an equestrian statue 
of Karl August. 

In the northern part of the city, not far from the railroad 
station, is the museum, a large building of sandstone It 
contains some very fine mural paintings, some statues, and 
a number of articles of interest in relation to the great 
characters who have made Weimar illustrious I was 
particularly impressed by a little locket on which the artist 
had painted the eye of his sweetheart. Being always ex- 
posed to her tender gaze, how could the lover be otherwise 
than noble and pure? 

Not far from the palace is the grand ducal library, which 
affords much that is interesting to the student. It contains 



A student's views ABKOAD. '^O^ 

some 170,000 volumes. Like all large European libraries, 
it possesses a sort of small museum of relics and curiosities. 
Among these are a model constructed by Peter the Great ; 
the cane of Frederick the Great ; a portion of the uniform 
which Gustavus Adolphus wore when killed ; Luther's 
monastic garments, etc., etc. The grand hall contains 
some excellent busts of the great poets, among which is 
Trippel's magnificent representation of Goethe in the prime 
of his hfe. It is the idealization of every manly trait, and is 
as handsome as Apcjllo. 

The attendant who conducted me through the library was 
a mercenary old soul, and was continually trying to impress 
me with the immense value of everything in sohd gold. As 
we descended the- ingenious spiral staircase, which was con- 
structed by a convict as the price of his liberty, the old 
guide laid his finger along the side of his nose and whisper- 
ed that he would show me the great African traveler. Dr. 
"V^ergessenwer. We then passed an inoffensive looking 
man who was quietly examining some books. I did not 
make any signs of wonder, for the old sinner forgot to tell 
me how much he cost . Upon receiving his customary fee 
the attendant gave me some doggerel recounting the treas- 
ures of the library, and bade me an affectionate farewell. 

Having thus visited all the wonders of Weimar I set out 
for Jena, feeling better satisfied than if I had visited a dozen 
dust}^ galleries. Indeed, Weimar has experienced the truth 
of those words of Goethe, that "it is advantageous to en- 
tertain genius ; if thou give it a guest^s gift it leaves a finer 
one in return. The spot a noble man has trod is sancitified; 



3o8 A student's views abroad. 

after a hundred years his word and deed resound to the 
grandson again . " 

Tuesday morning, Sept. 2ist, I arrived at Jena from Wei- 
mar. This famous university town lies in the narrow Saale 
valley and is surrounded on every side by lofty hills. The 
old part of the city is composed of ancient houses intersect- 
ed by narrow, crooked lanes. The outskirts present a more 
modern appearance, like the live bark around the old dried 
heart of a tree. The university buildings are on the north- 
ern side of the city . The celebrated scientist Prof. Hseckel 
has a large two story auditorinm apart from the others. The 
promenade in the neighborhood bears a number of busts of 
various former professors . In every university town one 
sees tablets on the houses commemorative of the residence 
of famous students, but it is nowhere carried to such an ex- 
tent as at Jena. Nearly every house of the better class is 
covered more or less with these memorial inscriptions which 
look like the patches on the face of a student of the fight- 
ing corps. Goethe visited Jena occasionally and Schiller be- 
came a professor of history at the university in 1789. The 
Germans do not seem to value his historical works for any- 
thing else than their form as they were not the result of per- 
sonal investigation. Everything must be accurate to the 
letter or it does not pass review in Germany. 

The battle of Je^a which prostrated Prussia, was fought 
Oct. 14th, t8o6, a short distance north of the city. 

Having considerable spare time I ascended the adjacent 
mountain Hausberg which is a favorite excursion of the 
students. The summit was formerly crowned by a castle, 
of which only a tower remains which has been restored and 



309 

provided with a staircase, so that one can enjoy a fine view 
now from the top . Love of nature is one of the chief char- 
acteristics of the Germans. The country in the vicinity of 
the cities is threaded with a net work of paths which are 
crowded with pedestrians of all ages and conditions on every 
fine Sunday. Towers are built on all the best summits 
where an extensive view is to be had. As for us Americans, 
indifference toward natural beauties seems to be our chief 
characteristic. Perhaps it is because we are still pioneers. 
America has fully as fine scenery as Europe if not finer, but 
we need to import some foreign tourists to make the fact 
known to us. Americans come over here, climb mountains 
because it is the custom and go into ecstacies over the pros- 
pect, but when they return to the States they seem to for- 
get that we have hilltops, caverns and waterfalls, which have 
been waiting these millions of ages for somebody to appre- 
ciate them. 

Tuesday afternoon 1 left Jena by the train up the Saale 
valley passing Rudolstadt, the former home of Schiller's 
wife, Charlotte von Lengefeld. I left the train at Saalfeld. 
The traveler from Jena to Coburg is compelled to take the 
long ride over the mountains of the Thuringian Forest by 
diligence, as there is no direct railway communication. At 
Saalfeld I found I could either leave at eleven o'clock in the 
evening or nine the next morning. Being in a hurry to 
reach Stuttgart I conchided to make the trip by night. The 
diligence was a clumsy vehicle but comfortable enough, ex- 
cept that it was bitterly cold. The horses crept slowly up 
the mountain side for a long time and then, quickening their 
pace, they ran along for hours in the gloom of the forest . 



3IO A student's vikws abroad. 

At the highest village in the mountains, half way toward 
Sonneberg, we stopped for a few minutes. After drinking 
some hot coffee I took another diligence, being the only pas- 
senger, and started down the valley. The moon shone 
brightly on the densely wooded mountains in quiet beauty. 
We rolled through villages catching glimpses of the numer- 
ous glowing glass-furnaces and about seven o'clock reached 
Sonneberg having made the thirty-two miles and a half in 
eight hours. I had to wait some time for the train ; then 
arrived after an hour's ride at Coburg 

This city is especialty interesting to the English from its 
connection with Prince Albert who was born at Rosenau 
four miles northeast of Cobarg. The market place contains 
a statue of the Prince which was inaugurated in 1865 in the 
presence of Queen Victoria. The present ducal residence, 
the Ehrenburg, stands at the foot of a hill upon which is the 
ancient castle of Coburg, which has recently been restored. 
The old fortress was the scene of a siege during the Thirty 
Years' War and during the session of the imperial diet at 
Augsburg, in 1530, Luther resided here doing a great deal 
of translating and other literary work. It was during this 
time that he wrote his world famous hymn, "Ein' feste Burg 
ist unser Gott." 

The castle, like the Wartburg at Eisenach, presents a 
large mediaeval fortress as it existed in its best days . The 
towers and ramparts are all complete, although the Prussian 
sentinel has taken the place of the armored warrior . The 
view from the walls is admirable . The principal building 
contains a fine collection of coaches, sleds, armor and similar 
articles. A number of elaborately decorated rooms are 



311 

shown and among others one that was used by Luther. Of 
course they have one of his beer mugs. It is a wooden one, 
about the size of a small bucket. The castle contains some 
fine wood carving and a very large natural history collection. 
There are even a couple of live bears in a den under the 
windows of the principal buildmg. 

Thursday morning, Sept. 23d, I left Coburg for Bamberg 
the famous old city of Franconia. It retains many of its 
ancient characteristics but is fast being modernized . The 
principal attraction of the place is the cathedral which stands 
on a hill in the northern part of the town. It contains the 
sarcophagus of its founder, Emperor Henry II., and his wife. 
Near the cathedral is the bishop's palace. It was Napoleon's 
headquarters in 1806 and it was from here that he issued the 
proclamation of war against Prussia. 

The same da}^ I continued my journey to Nuremberg 
where I happened to go to a hotel that was entertaining a 
company of players among whom were some Chinese. 
Most of the latter spoke English and one had the British 
accent to perfection. The strange costumes of the Celest- 
ials caused considerable stir among the Germans although 
in general they are not so quick to make sport of noncon- 
formities in dress as we are in America. In a Paris paper I 
read yesterday a saying that the fear of ridicule rules the 
French, which I think is also true of our people But the 
opposite seems to be the case with the Germans. The most 
eccentric kind of costumes cause no commotion. Everyone 
follows his own whims. One day in Cassel I saw an im- 
mense fat peasant woman whose dress barely reached to her 
knees. A cap on her head about as big as your hand helped 



312 A student's views abroad. 

to make her look as dumpy as the pictures in Tom Hood's 
"Up the Rhine " I looked around to see if this remarkable 
figure caused any comment ; but no, every one passed along 
in silence as though that was the regular costume. How far 
could that woman walk in an American city ? In about a 
minute she would have an uncomfortable troop of street boys 
hooting at her heels. The country where women and dogs, 
and horses and cows are harnessed together, cannot have a 
very delicate perception of the eternal fitness of things. The 
German writers boast of how from the time of Tacitus 
they attributed "something divine" (Etwas goettliches) to 
them, but I have never yet read anyone lamenting that they 
make these highly venerated women work like cattle. One 
cannot help thinking that the Germans, with all their great 
artistic and musical genius lack a delicate sensibility of the 
ridiculous and unsuitable. 

Even in slow old Europe the relics of the past are disap- 
pearing. The cities which twenty-five years ago looked as 
they did in the sixteenth century, have now the regularity 
and beauty of modern towns . Even in Augsburg and Lu- 
beck the new is at present so mixed with the old that the 
antique effect is almost destroyed. Of all the German cit- 
ies, Nuremberg is the only one which I have seen that pre- 
sents an unmarred picture of a mediaeval town. The solid 
stone walls with the moat and the picturesque towers and 
gates, form one of the most remarkable spectacles which 
one has an opportunity of seeing in Europe. They are 
certainly among the best preserved antique fortifications ex- 
tant. They not only serve now as an ornament, but also 
ward off the inroads of modern iconoclasts. The new 



A STUOENT^S VmWS ABROAD . 3l3 

Villas of the wealthy must be built without the walls. Her 
gates are even shut against the locomotive, that noisy ser- 
vant of this century, which has pushed its way through Au- 
reHan's wall at Rome and invaded the resting place of the 
Csesars . 

All Nuremberg is a museum in which we see relics of the 
middle ages preserved unimpared. It is entertainment 
enough to walk up and down the streets and look upon the 
old churches, the quaint gabled houses and the wonderful 
fountains. I have been wandering so long among the ruins 
of other ages that much" of the effect was lost on me, but I 
should think that the feelings of an American would be cur- 
ious who was transported directly from one of our cities to 
the antiquated scenes at Nuremberg. 

The old City Hall contains a number of pictures and a 
fresco of the year 1552, representing an execution with a 
**Fallbeil," or guillotine, which shows that Guillotin was not 
the first inventor of that horrible machine, although he 
may^ have conceived the idea independently. Under the 
City Hall vvtire the old dungeons, which had an under- 
ground communication with the fortress which stands upon 
an elevation at the northern end of the city. These prisons 
were the scenes of numberless barbarities which were per- 
petrated in the name of justice. 

The fortress was begun in the eleventh century and con- 
tinued at different times » In the court yard there is a well 
w^hich has been drilled through the rock to the astonishing 
depth of three hundred and thirty-five feet. The custodian 
lowered a candle, and then bv means of a mirror the light 
was reflected so as to show the water. The subterranean 



passages from the city hall dungeons open at the bottom of 
this well, and the prisoners are said to have procured their 
water from that source. 

In one of the towers of the castle there is a large and re- 
markable collection of instruments of torture, which is one 
of the most conclusive proofs of the progress of civilization. 
There one can see all the contrivances for producing pain 
which a diaboHcal fanc}'^ could invent . There are screws 
for crushing thumbs, boots for breaking legs, all sorts of 
pinchers for rending flesh and muscle, the wheel over which 
the victim's bones were broken, and axes which have de- 
prived hundreds of wretches of their lives. There hangs 
the blood-stained mantle which the executioner always wore 
when discharging his office. There are books relating to 
this terrible subject ; one, an autobiography of a legal 
butcher who numbered his victims by hundreds ; another, 
a code of laws of the last century with an appendix con- 
taining engravings and explanations of the manner of con- 
ducting the different modes of torture. One picture repre- 
sents a double execution, where one of the victims a high- 
wayman, who is to be broken on the wheel, is compelled to 
look on while his companion is slowly disemboweled. When 
we think that such tortures were often inflicted for mere 
differences of opinion upon subjects of which no one knows 
anything for certain ; when we remember further that of the 
hundreds who witnessed the cruelties perhaps none felt the 
least touch of pity, we may well be astonished at the in- 
fernal extremities to which human nature can go. The 
veriest hyena is a marvel of tenderness compared to such 
monsters . I feel thankful from the bottom of my heart for 



315 

two things : first, that I was born in the nineteenth cen- 
tury ; second, that I was born in America. As a Russian 
officer told Lieutenant F. V. Greene, we are a fortunate 
people in not having the middle ages at our back. 

The custodian of this chamber of horrors one would ex- 
pect to be a meager skeleton of a man dying slowly of 
fright from the close contact with these instruments of tor- 
ture. But no, it is an immense fat old woman, big around 
as a tub and compelled to use a cane to assist in supporting 
her accumulation of flesh . She repeats the usual explana- 
tions as vivaciously as the keeper of the wild animals at a 
circus. In moments of leisure she sits down by the heads- 
man's bloody mantle, with the tarnished axes at her feet, 
and peacefully slumbers and perhaps dreams of a land where 
there are mountains of sauerkraut and garlic, and rivers 
of Muenchener beer with other delicacies only appreciated 
by a Teutonic stomach. 

In the Spitalplatz, near the fine new synagogue, is a mon- 
ument of Hans Sachs, and in a little street adjoining is the 
house where he livid. He was a "master singer," and lived 
from 1494 to 1576. In those days verse-making was driven 
like a trade in guilds. The famous Nuremberg "funnel," 
which is now proverbial in Germany, was warranted to 
pour the whole art in one's head within six hours. The 
members of these poetical guilds generally had another 
trade to support them, and made verse-making a sort of 
auxiliary business . Motley says of similar performances 
in the Netherlands : "To torture the muses to madness; to 
wiredraw poetry through inextricable coils of difficult 
rh^^mes and impossible measures ; to hammer one golden 



3i6 A student's views abroad, 

grain of wit into a sheet of infinite platitude ; with fright- 
ful ingenuity to construct anagrams and preternatural 
acrostics ; to dazzle the vulgar eye with tawdry costumes, 
and to tickle the vulgar ear with virulent personalities^ 
were tendencies which perhaps smacked of the hammer, 
the yardstick and the pincers, and gave sufficient proof, had 
proof been necessary, that literature is not one of the me- 
chanical arts, and that poetry cannot be manufactured to a 
profit by joint stock companies." 

Hans Sachs was a shoe maker and seems to have worked 
at his trade all his Hfe. This did not interfere with his verse 
making however, for he produced something more than six 
thousand poetical pieces, among which were two hundred 
and eight tragedies and comedies. What pigmies our 
authors are in these days ! One of the French statesmen 
of the present is said to have found the jolting of an 
omnibus propitious in translating Homer into meter and I 
suppose the hammering of sole leather served Sachs' muse 
in the same way. 

Not far from the fortress is the dwelling house of Albert 
Durer, and near it is a fine statue of him by Ranch . I also 
visited his grave, at the Johanniskirchhof . He is unques- 
tionably the most famous native of Nuremberg. He visited 
Italy and the Low Countries and became the royal painter of 
the German imperial court. One day when he was painting 
upon a high ladder in the presence of Emperor Maximilian 
the First, that monarch ordered a nobleman to hold the lad- 
der. He refused saying it was unworthy of one of his rank 
to serve a painter. Maximilian answered : " I rate such a 
painter higher than a nobleman, for I can, if I wish, elevate 



317 

a peasant to a nobleman, but I cannot make such an artist 
out of a nobleman . " 

Durer had a terrible shrew for a wife, who made his ex- 
istence miserable. He tried to run off, but she brought 
him back . Shakespeare was not then born to tell how to 
tame her, and the poor artist at last succumbed to his fate. 
The Bishop of Litchfield wrote, some three centuries ago, 
that "it is a common jeste, yet trewe in some sense, that 
there is but one shrewe in all the worlde, and everee man 
hath her ; and so everee man must be ridd of his wiefe that 
wolde be ridd of a shrewe." Of course he was noth- 
ing but a crusty old priest, and bachelors are recommended 
not to believe him, but rather follow the Spanish proverb 
for choosing a wife : " Shut your eyes and commend your 
soul to God . " 

From Nuremberg 1 went to Stuttgart, my home of the 
previous winter. I was welcomed by m}/ friends in a cor- 
dial manner and was heartily glad of an opportunity to rest 
amid the familiar scenes, after having traveled constantly 
for six months in Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, Finland 
Russia and Denmark . 



CHAPTER XX. 

FAREWELL TO STUTTGART. — WEINSBERG's WOMEN. — HEIDEL- 
BERG AND FRANKFORT. DOWN THE RHINE AGAIN. AIX- 

LA-CHAPELLE. INAUGURATION OF THE GREAT COLOGNE 

CATHEDRAL. 



Cologne, Oct. 15th, 1880. 

The first part of my two week's visit at Stuttgart was 
favored with beautiful weather which made the surrounding 
vme clad hills appear in their finest aspect. But as the day 
drew near when I was to set off it began to rain long and fre- 
quently and brought those disagreeable necessities, mud and 
fog. Even my last walk through the familiar streets was under 
an umbrella. But nothing can mar the pleasure with which I 
think of the dear old capital. I have climbed her hills and 
looked over her spires, roofs and gardens too often to be 
ignorant of her beauty. Perhaps I have inherited some 
patriotic feeling toward Wurtemberg from my nameless an- 
cesters, but be that as it may, I have no place in the Father- 
land more dearly at heart than the pleasant valleys and green 
mantled, ruin crowned hills of the matchless Swabian land. 

After bidding farewell to my limited circle of acquaint- 
ances, I turned my face toward Heidelberg. As I had three 
times made the journey by the railway via Bruchsal, I went 



319 

this time by way of the old free city of Heilbronn which is 
filled with reminiscences of the Knight of the Iron Hand, 
Goetz von Berlichingen, whom Goethe has done so much to 
immortalize. He was born in 1480 in Wurtemberg and died 
in 1562. At the siege of Landshut he lost his right hand 
which he replaced by the iron one that is as famous as the 
warrior himself. His descendents are still living, one being 
a major in the Austrian army. The iron hand is said to be 
still preserved. The Knight's autobiography suggested 
Goethe's play which however contradicts the historical ac- 
count in some places. 

The rain continued to fall but I am used to that and I 
made an excursion from Heilbronn to Weinsberg in spite of 
the weather. The name of the latter place is quite appro- 
priate for it lies in a valley surrounded by luxuriant vine- 
yards. 1 did not care anything for the town however but 
immediately inquired the way to the castle. The fellow I 
asked was quite surprised that I was going up that night, I 
did not stop to explain why I wanted to visit a ruin during 
the rain but hurried on up the hill knowing that I had little 
time to spare before the train would come . At the foot of 
an elevation stands the residence of the Swabian poet Jus- 
tinus Kerner who like our Holmes found that the two pro- 
cesses of pill and verse making could be harmoniously pur- 
sued by the same person. He died in 1862 and his monu- 
ment with a bronze portrait medallion stands near his former 
home w^hich is now occupied by his son who has succeeded 
his father both as a disciple of the Muses and of Aescula- 
pius. 

Passing this house I soon reached the summit of the hill 



3^o A student's views abroad. 

by a good path. The ruins consist of the fragments of 
two towers and the scanty remains of the outer wall, but 
everything is so well arranged that it produces a good im- 
pression. This is the old castle Weibertreu or Women's 
Faithfulness, which has been the theme of many a ballad . 
It should be the Mecca of all admirers of the gentle sex 
and I hope it will be put down to my credit that I climbed 
the hill in the rain. 

When the Hohenstaufen Conrad was elected emperor in 
1 138 the rival house of Guelf felt much injured because they 
considered that the dignity belonged to them. Their discon- 
tent manifested itself in various ways and finally in 1140 
Count Guelf of Altdorf marched against Conrad. It came 
to a battle near Weinsberg which is notable as being the 
first occasion of the use of those war cries of " Guelf and 
Ghibiline " which afterwards acquired such a terrible sig- 
nificance in Italy. In the Weinsberg engagement the im- 
perial cause was triumphant and the rebellious town itself 
was compelled to surrender. Exaspei-ated by its obstinate 
resistence the emperor determined to give it over to plunder 
and destruction, but he was gallant enough however to allow 
the women to depart with their dearest jewels from the doom- 
ed cit3^ The gates were opened and the long line moved 
out, yet great was the astonishment of the monarch when he 
saw every lady bearing upon her back a husband or lover as 
her dearest jewel. The courtiers murmured against this 
interpretation of the mandate but the emperor would not be 
outdone and spared both men and city. Methinks I hear a 
growl of skepticism among the bachelors, but it is a fact ; if 



323^ 

they do not believe it they can read it in the contemporary 
chronicle of St. Pantaleonis. 

The castle was destroyed in 1525. In the early part of 
the present century even the few fragments that remained 
seemed about to disappear, but they were taken under the 
protection of the poet Kerner and secured from further van- 
dalism . The ground was bought by the women of Ger- 
many and laid out in the present beautiful style. It was 
Kerner's plan to build there a women's hall of fame upon 
the model of the Valhalla which Ludwig I , of Bavaria, 
built at Ratisbon . The chivalrous project failed for want of 
means. Among the ruins the faithful women's way is still 
pointed out. The stones are covered with verses and names 
of distinguished visitors. Nearly all of the South German 
poets are represented, as well as the king and queen of 
Wurtemberg and American Consul Potter, late of Stutt- 
gart, • 

From Weinsberg I went to Heidelberg the same evening. 
The following day proved clear and I was so fortunate as to 
see the classic city at her best. The famous university was 
not in session. I could therefore do nothing more than 
look at the building. The city has a magnificent situation 
on the Neckar between two chains of mountains w^hich are 
covered with vineyard and forest. It is so closely pressed 
between the hills and river that it consists of but a couple of 
long streets which are about two miles in extent. During 
the university vacation there is little to be seen in the town 
itself. 

After walking about the city I started up the steep path 
toward the castle. This is the largest and most magnificent 



322 A student's VIEWS ABROAD. 

ruin in Germany and has been the favorite subject of native 
poets and painters for ages. What the coliseum is to Italy, 
the Heidelberg castle is to Germany . The structure is the 
work of many centuries and presents many variations in 
style. It is really a number of distinct buildings joined to- 
gether and partakes both of the character of a palace and 
fortress so that the visitor may admire its massiveness as 
well as its beauty. The earliest portion was begun by 
Count Rudolph at the end of the thirteenth century. The 
French commander, Count JMelac caused the fortifications to 
be blown up and the palace to be burned in 1689. It was 
twice struck by lightning which completed the destruction . 
A rich growth of ivy has covered the ruins . The terrace 
and towers afford fine views of the Neckar valley. The 
most curious part of castle is the "blown up tower." The 
French attempted to demolish it with powder but the masonry 
was so massive that it was merely split into two parts one 
half falling into the moat and the other half remained stand- 
ing. 

Of course we descended into the cellar to see the immense 
wine tun, the famous "Heidelberger Fass." I was with an 
elderly German couple. The smaller cask first came in 
view. The lady thought this was the monster and began to 
invoke the gods and saints in a manner peculiar to Germans. 
When we finally saw the real tun she cried : "there it is, there 
it is, mein Gott, mein Gott !" Her husband contented him- 
self with a muffled "Donnerwetter" and then began to ex- 
amine the wonder. It was constructed in 1664 and holds 
236,000 bottles. Opposite it stands a wooden model of the 



A student's views abroad. 323 

court jester Perkeo who drank daily only about fifteen 
bottles. 

I next ascended the mountain back of the castle which is 
called the Koenigsstuhl. It is 1847 feet above the sea and is 
crowned by a tower which commands an almost boundless 
view . I met a goodly number of English who came to see 
the "cawsel." After returning to the city I crossed the old 
bridge and ascended the opposite hill, passing the inn 
<'Hirschgasse" where the students amuse themselves by slic- 
ing each others faces. About half way up the hill one reaches 
the famous Philosopher's Way which is two miles long and 
affords fine views of the castle and the Neckar and Rhine 
Valleys. After seeing this airy and classic path I returned 
to the city. 

I left Heidelberg, Oct. 9th, by the afternoon train for 
Frankfort. The railroad has been built parallel with the 
famous "Bergstrasse" which runs along the western side of 
the Odenwald . The mountains present a varied and beau- 
tiful appearance and are crowned by numerous ruined cas- 
tles. If one were to glide along on the bosom of a majes- 
tic river instead of rattling by on a prosy railroad, he would 
undoubtedtly think that the scenery rivaled the Rhine. 

The old free cit}- of Frankfort on the Main was founded 
in the eighth century by Charlemagne. The name of the 
suburb Sachsenhausen is said to have been derived from a 
colony of conquered Saxons which that cruel monarch lo- 
cated on the opposite side of the river from Frankfort. 

The great Easter and Autumn Fairs had an immense in- 
fluence in multiplying the wealth of the town. The Golden 
Bull of Emperor Charles the Fourth appointed Frankfort 



324 A student's views abroad. 

in 1356 to be the place of election of the sovereigns. The 
Frankforters worshiped this golden bull as much as the 
English do their "magna charta." 

In the war of ^66 Frankfort took the Austrian side and 
at its close it was swallowed by Bismarck and the Prussians, 
All South Germany would have likely been gulped into the 
same insatiate maw, if they had not provided themselves 
with various impediments to digestion, just as frogs take 
sticks in their mouths to keep from being devoured by ser- 
pents. For instance King Karl of Wurtemberg wisely 
took unto himself a wife from the Russian tyrant's house. 
Now if Bismarck had attempted to annex that country the 
Russian Emperor would have been heard from. That is 
the way they balance the machine in Europe. If one side 
of the scale displays signs of going up they fling a woman 
into it, and, presto ! all is even . Verily he that findeth a 
wife findeth a good thing, especially if he is a neighbor of 
Bismarck and she has a big brother with lots of soldiers. 

One of Frankfort's principal objects of interest is the 
Stuttgart sculptor Dannecker's marble group of Ariadne 
one of the best specimens of the later art. Dannecker 
was a schoolmate of Schiller at the academy of Stuttgart . 
He afterwards modeled a colossal bust of the poet which 
is one of his most famous works. The original is in the 
museum at Stuttgart. 

The most interesting historical edifice in Franjcfort is 
the Roemer or old town hall. It was built about 1406. It 
stands on a large square called the Roemerberg which was 
forbidden ground for a Jew until a century ago. In the 
second story of the building is the room where the emper- 



325 

ors were formerly elected . Its original form is preserved. 
In front of this is the Kaisersaal where the new emperors 
dined with the electors and appeared at the windows to the 
multitude in the square below . The hall has been restored 
and the walls decorated with paintings of all the emperors. 
The circumstances connected with an elevation have been 
immortalized in Goethe's autobiography. 

The old bridge, which was the great poet's favorite prom- 
enade in his youth, is not far from the square. It was con- 
structed in 1242 and bears a statue of Charlemagne. Near 
it stands a rooster on a pole. Tradition says the architect 
vowed that the first living being that crossed the bridge 
should go to the Devil in exchange for valuable assistance 
received m spanning the river. The first traveler over the 
bridge proved nothing but a feathered animal, so the Devil 
was cheated. Whether the rooster was put up to give 
proof of the story or the lie was invented to account for the 
rooster, I am not able to say. 

Frankfort is fast losing her old character. She is tak- 
ing on the appearance of a modern city of wealth. Broad 
avenues and elegant mansions are succeeding the narrow 
lanes and dingy houses of the past. Even the Jews' quarter 
at Frankfort has lost its peculiarities. The famous Juden- 
gasse is almost demolished. One must turn now to Prague 
to see the squalor that once was here. The Jews have 
not been free a century in Germany but they have already 
manifested the inherent vigor of their race by attaining 
some of the highest positions in society. Zealots may ad- 
judge the hottest corners of hell to whom they please, but 
they are now powerless to bring any of their infernal ma- 



326 A student's views abroad. 

chines into this world. There is however a good deal of 
the old feeling in Germany. The Christians hate the Jews 
and take every opportunity to make it known. Even peo- 
ple who are otherwise quite reasonable, lose their sense 
when they get on this subject. If one asks whether the 
Israelites are depraved, treacherous or incompetent, they 
answer no, but — they have all the best places in the country. 
I have heard of school boys hating those who were able to 
surpass them in their sports, but I had thought that men 
were alcove such nonsense. We are not perfect over the 
ocean but I am glad that the American people are great and 
noble enough not to grudge anyone the legitimate fruits of 
his toil, whether his grandfather peddled Irish linen or lived 
off his neighbors and had a handle to his name. 

Frankfort had the honor of being the birthplace of Goethe, 
the greatest genius of Germany, The house in which he 
was born stands in the Hirschgraben . It has a well to-do 
appearance though of course antiquated. At present it is 
the property of a societ}^ and contains mementos of the 
great bard. As it is connected with so many incidents in 
Goethe's "Dichtung und Wahrheit," it will always remain an 
object of lasting interest. The house happened to be closed 
when I was there and I thus missed the pleasure of seeing 
its interior. I visited the grave of Goethe's mother in the 
old Peter's Cemetery. She has justly shared the honor of 
her son even m her grave, for her monument has recently 
been restored. 

I went out farther to the new cemetery which is a beau- 
tiful place. Among the others I saw the grave of the cel- 
ebrated philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer who died m i860. 



327 

From Frankfort I went to Mayence and embarked on the 
steamer for Cologne to see the inauguration of the great 
Cathedral, which has been the labor of so many centuries . 
As I had two days to spare after my arrival before the cel- 
ebration would take place I began to study the map to find 
some convenient excursion. It was raining fearfully, but 
one grows indifferent to that and if he travel much, the 
panorama has to move along very fast or the tourist gets 
weary of the scenes. After searching the chart thoroughly 
I determined to make a flying trip to Aix-la-Chapelle, some 
forty-three miles from Cologne. 

I took the early train and in a couple of hours reached the 
ancient coronation city. The ride was wretched enough. 
The rain was pouring down and a thick fog concealed the 
country from view. My fellow-passengers were gloomy and 
silent. When the cars stopped some new-comer would 
bring in a gust of wind and rain and splash us with his 
dripping coat and umbrella. There is no sense in these Eu- 
ropean coaches anyhow. In winter they are as cold as ice, 
for how can a car be warm when they open the whole side 
of it at every station ? At all seasons everybody inconven- 
iences everybody else when he climbs in and out. Of course 
if you are a stranger in a strange land you want to sit by the 
window, and then everyone has to climb over your knees 
and drag their baggage after them. By the time they have 
stowed their valises away in the racks, and gotten them- 
selves seated you feel as if an elephant had been walking 
over you. In Wurtemberg, Russia and Switzerland they 
have adopted the American style or rather, a feeble imita- 
tion of our cars. 



328 

Aix-la-Chapelle was the Aquisgranum of the Romans 
which was founded on account of the warm springs of the 
neighborhood It owed its mediaeval importance to Char- 
lemagne who had a palace here and built the chapel from 
which the name of the city is derived . Thirty-seven em- 
perors were crowned there . The modern town has crook- 
ed streets but presents, withal, a well-to-do appearance. It 
has an air that is not altogether German. 

Between the years 796 and 804 Charlemagne erected a 
chapel near his palace after the style of the church of Saint 
Vitale, at Ravenna, audit was consecrated by Pope Leo the 
Third. This structure is still standing and forms a part of 
the cathedral, a choir in the Gothic style having been added 
in the fourteenth century. The difference in the architec- 
ture of the two parts produces a queer effect , Eginhard, 
the biographer and according to tradition the son-in-law of 
Charlemagne, writes thus of the cathedral at that early per- 
iod : "The minister at Aix-la-Chapelle, which is of extreme 
beauty, is a monument of his love for the arts, as also of his 
great piety. After he had it built he caused it to be orna- 
mented with gold and ^silver, together with windows, lattices 
and gates of solid brass. He had all the pillars and marble 
stones used for its construction brought from Rome and Ra- 
venna, as he could not obtain them in any other quarter." All 
this ancient magnificence has disappeared and the octagonal 
structure looks quite plain . At present it is being restored 
and re-adorned. 

In the center of the pavement of the original chapel there 
is a large slab with the inscription " Carolo Magno, " but 
the great emperor's remains repose in a silver reliquary in 



A STtrDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD* 329 

tlie treasury. Charlemagne was born at Aix-la-Chapelle, 
and died there Jan. i8th, 814. His body was clothed in his 
imperial robes and placed upon a marble throne in a closed 
chapel in the cathedral, A golden Bible was laid upon his 
knees, a pilgrim's scrip wound about and a piece of the orig- 
inal cross placed upon his head . There the stern old 
Kaiser sat in quiet majesty undisturbed until the year 1,000 
when his admirer Otho III,, opened the vault and found his 
body intact. Renewing the garments the emperor resealed 
the tomb and so it remained until 1165 when Frederick Bar- 
barossa transferred it to a marble sarcophagus. After Char- 
lemagne had been canonized, Frederick II. placed his re- 
mains in a silver reliquary in 12 15 where they have sincere- 
posed in peace. The beadle showed me the tomb of the 
Emperor Otho III., and the jeweled pulpit and then led me 
up to the gallery. Here I saw and sat on the marble throne 
upon which Charlemagne's body rested three hundred and 
fifty-one years and which was afterwards used at the cor- 
onation of the subsequent emperors. I also saw the an- 
tique sarcophagus in which Charlemagne's bones were 
placed from 1 165 to 12 15. It is of a style similar to those 
which one sees everywhere in Itaty. The sacristan told me 
that it once contained the remains of Augustus, but sacris- 
tans do not always tell the truth and this story is partic- 
ularly transparent . 

October 15th, 1880, will long be remembered by the peo- 
ple of Cologne. The old cathedral after the labor of six 
centuries and a half had been finally completed and the lead- 
ing men of the German Empire gathered at Cologne to in- 
augurate the edifice with appropriate ceremonies. Among 



33^ A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 

those present were Emperor William and Empress Augusta^ 
the Crown Prince and Princess, Prince Wilhelm, Count 
von Moltke, King- Albert of Saxony, the Grand Duke of 
Baden, and many others. 

There were various processions and the crowded heads 
were greeted with great enthusiasm. Gallant Moltke was 
cheered again and again . The narrow streets could hardly 
hold the multitudes. At night the cathedral was illumi- 
nated by electric light and the sky was ablaze with bril- 
liant fire works. United Germany rejoiced over the com- 
pletion of the famous church. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

FROM COLOGNE UP THE RHINE, SPIRES. SESENHEIM.-— 

STRASSBURG. BASEL. CONSTANCE SPENDING THE 

WINTER AT GENEVA. 



Geneva, Dec. ist, 1880. 
In the midst of the vast Rhine plain, which the tourist 
views from the summit of the Kaiserstuhl near Heidelberg, 
stands the old city of Spires, and through the mists the ob- 
server sees the towers of its cathedral, the burial place of 
the Emperors. Here was situated the Augusta Nemetum of 
the Romans* Here were held many of the diets 
of the old German empire. Here the princes friendly 
to the Reformation protested against the resolutions of the 
congress held by Charles the Fifth in 1529, from which fact 
the name Procestant was derived. The city, like dozens of 
others, was plundered by the unprincipled hirelings of his 
most Christian Majesty, Louis XIV. of France, and there is 
little left to-day of the historical relics of the past. The 
place has some thirteen thousand inhabitants but is very 
quiet. The only attraction is the cathedral, which was 
founded by Conrad II. in 1030. It was the burial place of 
the Emperors but the imperial tombs were twice desecrated 
by the French. The last time was in 1693 by the troops 
commanded by Hentz. It is a curious fact that the spolia- 



332 A student's views abroad. 

tion of the tombs of the French kings at St , Denis was 
perpetrated by a mob led by a man named Hentz, just one 
hundred years later. The cathedral was for some time used 
as a magazine by the French but was finally restored and 
decorated by Ludwig the First, of Bavaria, the same mon- 
arch who raised Munich to one of the chief art centers of 
the world and made his influence felt throughout all Europe, 
The Spires cathedral is particularly rich in frescoes which 
rank as first class . They are of bibhcal and ecclesiastical 
subjects, thirty-two in number, and were executed by 
Schraudolph between 1845 and 1853. Eight German sov- 
ereigns were buried in the church. Their remains are de- 
posited in the crypt beneath the choir, where one can still 
see the original sarcophagus of Rudolph, of Habsburg,who 
is the most distinguished of the emperors who rest here. 
The church contains a good statue of him by Schwanthaler. 
Rudolph was a powerful administrator of justice and de- 
stroyed many a tyrant's castle and hung many a robber 
knight. He had sense enough, too, not to meddle with 
Italy, which never could be united with Germany and would 
have been a useless acquisition even if it had been possible. 
He compared it to a lion's den, where many traces were 
visible of those who went in but few of those who came out. 
In his old age the Emperor was playing chess one day as 
usual in the castle at Germersheim when his physicians 
announced that his disease would soon prove mortal. 
"Well," he cried when the game was done, "up 
and away to Spires, to the tomb of the kings." In Kerner's 
ballad he mounts his war horse and rides to his grave. He 
prays for his people, receives the host and "then all at once 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD . 333 

the hali grows bright with a supernatural illumination, and 
in eternal sleep the hero sits there with the peace of heaven 
upon his countenance." 

On the north, side of the cathedral is the small Chapel of 
St. Afra, which was built by Emperor Henry the Fourth. 
Here the body of that monarch rested unburied for five 
years upon unconsecrated ground until the ban of excom- 
munication against him was finally removed by Pope Pas- 
cal. Poor old Henry had a sad time with the priests. Not 
only did the proud Gregory VII . keep him barefooted in 
the snow three days before his gate at Canossa, but his fol- 
lowers on the papal chair incited his son to rebellion and 
the much aflfiicted monarch was compelled to abdicate and 
died of grief. 

After spending the morning among these historical scenes 
I took the train for Strassburg. An hour before reach- 
ing the city we passed Sesenheim, the scene of Goethe's in- 
timacy with Friederika Brion. This was in i77o> when the 
poet was attending the University at Strassburg. Herder 
had made known to him the beauties of Goldsmith's Vicar 
of Wakefield when his school-fellow Weyland offered to in- 
troduce him to a like amiable family. No sooner said than 
agreed to. Goethe disguised himself as a poor theological 
student, and off they galloped "twenty miles away" to the 
house of the village pastor at Sesenheim, Weyland left 
the shabbily clad, pretended theologue to discuss the pet sub- 
jects of the open-hearted preacher, and went to bring the 
more interesting members of the family. The mothers and 
daughters at length arrived, all beautiful, but the appear- 
ance of Friederike, the younger, enwrapt the attention of 



334 A student's views abroad. 

the disguised student. She was dressed in the Alsatian 
national costume and was gifted with an airy grace com- 
bined with an innocent artlessness of manner. For her de- 
scription I cannot do better than to quote Mr. A. F. Broom- 
hall's excellent lines : 

" Flowing hair and marble brow, 
Waving lashes, drooping low, 
Curtains which were hiding eyes, 
Blue and bright as starry skies ; 
Dimpled cheeks and chiseled nose ; 
Budding lips which shamed the rose ; 
Rounded chin and throat of snow ; 
Form from which all graces flow ; 
These are heis— a net of charms, 
Stronger than a giant's arms." 

The more Goethe became interested in the new acquaint- 
ance the more he became disgusted with his attire. Indeed 
in the morning he bolted in despair, leaving Weyland to ex- 
plain mattersjbut a happy turn enabled him to change his dis- 
guise and he returned to the parsonage in the dress of the vil- 
lage landlord's son. A series of surprises followed, the pleas- 
antest being when Friederike found him alone at her favor- 
ite resort upon a little knoll. Toward evening the students 
left to gallop back to Strassburg, but the letters and visits 
quickly made Goethe Friederike's acknowledged lover. All 
went well until 1771, when the poet left Strassburg, his 
dream being ended. "As I reached her my hand from 
the horse," he writes, "the tears stood in her eyes, and 
my own spirit was very sad . " Their parting is referred 
by some to their difference in "social condition," but I think 
it should be ascribed alone to Goethe's eternal thirst for 
novelty. His connection with Christiane Vulpius shows 
that he was not disposed to let the views of the pubhc de- 
ter him from following his inclination. 



335 

Lewes thought Friederike the noblest of the many women 
whom Goethe loved, and I suppose none will dispute the 
fact. She never married, for the heart which had been 
Goethe's, she said, could love no one else. The poet visited 
her several times in after years. She died in 1813. Goethe 
has paid her a beautiful tribute in his " Dichtung und 
Wahrheit, " and she has been the subject of many books . 
Old withered scholars have made pilgrimages to Sesenheim 
and written an endless amount of sentimentality about the 
knoll of Friederikens Ruhe. But in later days the roman- 
tic spot fell a prey to the cultivator of cabbage and potatoes, 
until last July when the ground was bought by subscription 
and a handsome summer-house erected. With the usual 
speeches of the professors the place was solemnly given over 
to the village authorities, to be preserved "forever." The 
knoll is close to the railroad. It looks rather desolate, but 
the trees are to be replanted. 

If any are curious for further details I refer them to the 
English translation of Dichtung und Wahrheit,which is pub- 
lished in Bohn's Library under the title of Autobiography of 
Goethe. The narrative begins in the latter part of the tenth 
book. It must of course be remembered that the transla- 
tion cannot be expected to be as good as the original. Those 
who take the trouble to read it will find a nobler character 
than they meet in novels, and they can have the satisfaction 
of knowing that this belongs to the true part (Wahrheit) of 
the story. Perhaps, too, the account will awake an answer- 
ing feeling, for, as the dainty Austin Dobson says : 

" We shut our heart up, nowadays. 
Like some old music box that plays 
Unfashionable airs that raise derisive pity ; 
Alas a nothing starts the spring ; 
And lo, the sentimental thing 
At once commences quavering 
Its lover's ditty." 



i 



33^ A student's views abroad. 

Strassburg's cathedral is as famous as the city itself. One 
may even say that it is the cause of the city being so wide- 
ly known. The structure was begun in 1179 upon the site 
of an earlier church, but the work progressed very slowly 
and is still unfinished. The most famous of its architects 
was Erwin Von Steinbach in the early part of the fourteenth 
century. He constructed the facade which is considered the 
finest part of the cathedral. He is said to have been suc- 
ceeded by his talented daughter Sabina, although some crit- 
ics have tried to dissolve the poor girl into a myth. She has 
a statue at one of the portals, however, and it will take 
some time to prove that out of existence. 

The cathedral of Strassburg was designed to have twin 
towers, but only one has been finished. In spite of its great 
height it has a wonderful appearance of airy grace. It was 
long famous for being the highest spire in the world, but 
that distinction has passed to other quarters. It now is 
fourth in rank. The cathedral at Cologne, lately finished, is 
524 feet high ; St. Ouen, at Rouen, in France, 492 feet ; St. 
Nicholas, at Hamburg, 473 feet; and the Strassburg cathe- 
dral, 466 feet. The great pyramid of Cheops in now 451 
feet high; St. Peter's, at Rome, 435 feet ; St. Paul's, at Lon- 
don, 404 feet ; and the Capitol at Washington, 300 feet. 

It was raining hard when I visited the Strassburg cathe- 
dral, but I determined to ascend the tower notwithstanding 
the weather. I climbed as far as the turrets, which are 
about three hundred and fifty feet above the ground. It is 
a dizzy height, and when one sees human beings in the 
streets below, they seem like a realization of Gulliver's 
Lilliputians. It is possible to go some distance higher, but 



A STtTDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD, 337 

one requires an especial permit from the city officers, and in 
wet weather it is like crawhng into a cave. My ambition 
does not seek that kind of glory. 

The famous clock is not situated in the tower, as some 
may suppose, but on the contrary, is in the church itself, in 
the transept to the left of the high altar. It was construct- 
ed between 1838 and 1842, by a Strassburg clock-maker 
named Schwilgue, and replaced an older and similar piece. 
On the lowest gallery is the deity which represents the da}^ 
of the week. Above this an angel strikes the quarters of 
the hour upon the bell, and a genius at his side reverses his 
sand glass hourly. Still higher up a skeleton strikes the 
hours, and figures representing boyhood, youth, manhood 
and old age strike the quarters successively . Still higher, 
the apostles move around the figure of Jesus, at noon, and 
at the same time a large cock upon an adjacent elevation 
flaps its wings, stretches its neck and crows three times 
vigorously. The latter is the best part of the show. The 
clock is calculated to reo-ulate itself for nine hundred and 
ninety-nine years. 

The siege of Strassburg by the Germans lasted from Au- 
gust nth, 1870, until September 27th. The destruction was 
awful, but there is nothing visible now to remind one of 
those terrible days. The fortifications are being extended, 
and seem unlimited in strength. The city has an appear- 
ance midway between French and German. One hears both 
languages, but all greetings are in French. 

After I had spent a day in Strassburg I set out for Basel 
quite willingly, as the rain continued without interruption . 
It is a ride of five hours. The mist hid everything from 



33^ A student's views abroad. 

view. I barely caught a glimpse of the castle of the Count 
of Rappoltstein on the distant hill. The count was the hered- 
itary king of all the musicians and minstrels of the upper 
Rhine . They paid him a yearly tax and received in return 
the benefit of his protection. Every year a festival and re- 
union was held at the castle on the 8th of September, the 
"Pfeifertag." In 1673 this jurisdiction passed to other 
hands, and was at length extinguished by the French Rev- 
olution . It is a pity that the poets of the present day have 
not a king to look out for their affairs . I am afraid, how- 
ever, that his income would be small and his life short if he 
depended upon them for his revenues. 

At Basel I entered Switzerland, the grand old republic . 
In the suburban village of St. Jacob there is a fine new mon- 
ument in memor}^ of the 1,300 Swiss who were there cut to 
pieces by 30,000 French, in 1444. The Cathedral and Rhine 
bridges are worth seeing, but did not detain me long in the 
rain. According to Fetridge, Basel people used to keep- 
their clocks an hour ahead of their neighbors. Some say this 
was done because they were lazier than the rest of the world, 
in order to keep them up to time. Their descendants are 
livelier, however, and get along without this stimulus. 

In a disagreeable storm of rain I left for Constance. We 
passed three custom houses on the way, but the examination 
was as lenient as one could imagine. I stopped at Neuhausen 
to see the famous Falls of the Rhine. I was disappointed. 
They say they are finer than Niagara, but that is as if one 
would claim that candle light is brighter than sunshine. To 
compare them with St . Anthony's Falls would be nearer the 
truth. For a franc one can go down to the edge of the tor- 



A student's views abroad. 339 

rent and enjoy all the grand eifect of the falling waters. 

"Here it comes sparkling, 

And there it lies darkling; 

Now smoking and frothing. 

In tumult and wrath in, 
It hastens along, conflictingly strong, 

Now striking and raging. 

As if a war waging, 
Its caverns and rocks among." 

The city of Constance has a beautiful situation by the 
lake with varied views over water, meadow and mountain. 
I wandered through the streets, parks and quays and visited 
the caftiedral. Down by the lake stands the Merchants' 
Hall, in which the famous council was held from 1414 to 
1418. That assembly deposed the three anti-popes, John 
XXII., Gregory II. and Benedict X. and chose another, 
Martin V. The council has gained an infamous reputation 
in the eyes of civilization by its treacherous murder of John 
Huss and Jerome of Prague. The house where the former 
was arrested is still standing and is marked by a quaint old 
inscription and a new tablet with his relief portrait. West 
of the city, in the midst of a large meadow, an immense 
rock indicates the spot where the two heretics were burned. 
Huss was murdered July 6th, 1415, and Jerome of Prague, 
May 30th, 1416. Their ashes were thrown into the Rhine. 
Their spirits were solemnly given over to the Devil, who 
was certainly closely related to the givers. Huss and 
Jerome fell as martyrs to mediaeval intolerance, and as sach 
will never be forgotten. They have borne a share in mould- 
ing the character of this age and causing us to acknowledge 
the guiltlessness of honest thought. As Channing says, we 
are responsible for the uprightness and not for the rightness 



3^o A stuuent's views abroad. 

of our opinions. All hail, then, to Huss and Jerome of 
of Prague. 

"They never fail who die 
In a great' catsse. The block nsay soak their gore ; 
Their heads may sodden in the sun ; their limbs 
Be Strang to city gates and castle walls— 
But still their spirit walks abroad. Though years 
Elapse, and others share as dark a doom, 
They but augment the deep and sweeping tho\ight& 
Which overpower all others, and conduct 
The world at last to freedom," 

It soon became apparent that my hopes for better weather 
would soon be disappointed, and I took the train for Zurich, 
via Stem. We ran along the banks of the Rhine which 
here expands into the broad Untersee. At Stein I took my 
last look at the old Rhine, and the cars started southvvard 
through a rugged country, crossing the Thur by a lofty 
bridge. At Winterthur I boarded the express from 
Romanshorn and gossiped with a Vienna gentleman who 
thought I was a Russian, until we finally rolled into the 
station at Zurich. 

The weather was as bad as possible. 1 could not see the 
mountains, not even the Uetliberg. I walked down by the 
lake and looked at it through the mists, which did not give 
much satisfaction. After seeing the little churchyard where 
the physiognomist Lavater is buried, I took the train for 
Lucerne, via Zug. We passed near the battle-field where 
Zwingli was killed, October nth, 153 1. A little later we 
passed along the shore of the Lake of Zug . Neither cars 
nor stations were heated, and when we reached Lucerne I 
was almost numb with cold. Under these circumstances I 
did not care to see anything but the fine Lion Monument. 
This was erected in 1821, to the memory of the Swiss 
Guards, who were killed in the defense of the Tuileries in 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD . 34 1 

1792. It represents a dying lion, and was hewn in a sand- 
stone cliff after a model hy Thorwaldsen. It is a mag- 
nificent work. 

In the afternoon I started for Berne by way of Aarburg. 
We passed the Lake of Sempach and saw the battle-field 
where the heroic Swiss defeated the Austrian oppressors 
July 8th, 1386. It was here that Arnold von Winkelried 
offered up his Hfe for his country. The invaders were clad 
in armor and with their long lances they easily kept the 
Confederates at bay. Sixty of the brave mountaineers lay 
already dead when Arnold rushed forward shouting : " I 
will open a way for freedom ; comrades, care for my wife 
and child !" Grasping as many of the enemies' spears as 
possible he buried them in his own body. The Swiss dash- 
ed through this opening and mercilessly slaughtered the 
knights who w^ere encumbered with their armor. Duke 
Leopold, of Austria, and four hundred nobles with thous- 
ands of their followers perished. The brave Swiss States 
were saved. To re-apply Dr. Johnson's saying of Marathon 
I think "the man is little to be envied whose patrotism would 
not gain force" upon the field of Sempach. One who is 
devoted to an idea is an uncomfortable neighbor but he 
alone exhibits his manhood ; all others sneak through life 
swayed hither and thither by desires and fears, and spend 
their existence like dogs, hunting for bones and dodging 
kicks. 

Toward evening we arrived at Berne, the capital of the 
Confederation. The city is bounded on three sides by the 
river Aar and the environs are very beautiful. One is said 
to enjoy magnificent views of the Alps from the different 



34^ A student's views abroad. 

elevations in the city. It may be so, but I did not. The 
streets are bordered on each side by arcades like those at 
Bologna, in Italy, but they are so clumsily made that they 
spoil the appearance of the houses. 

After seeing the Parliament buildings and the cathedral, I 
crossed over the Aar to look at Berne's collection of bears . 
The founder of the city is said to have killed a bear on its 
present site, and the people have worshiped that animal ever 
since. You see images and pictures of bears everywhere. 
If the city erects a statue to a public benefactor, the recip- 
ient of such honor must grant a portion of his pedestal to 
the nation's idol, and man and bear stand side by side. For 
many years a number of live animals have been kept at 
public expense. They were carried to France in the time 
of Napoleon, but were again returned. 

In the afternoon I set out for Geneva, my last jour- 
ney for the season. The scenery along the road is very 
beautiful. It was dark when we approached Lausanne, but 
that did not hinder us from enjoying the first view of the 
Lake of Geneva, whose praises Byron has so finely sung. 

In the apartment of the car with me there were two 
others who were going to Geneva to learn French. Our 
other fellow-passenger was a German cosmopolitan on his 
way to Southern France. As usual, he asked me if I was 
a Russian, as soon as he noticed from my language that I 
was a foreigner. 

About nine o'clock in the evening we reached Geneva, 
and I felt relieved to think that I was now to throw my old 
knapsack into a corner and settle down for the winter. My 
home is near the lake, and this evening, when I go to my 



343 

window, I can hear the waves breaking over the mole. 
The Jura and "clear, placid Leman" are my daily sights, 
and in fine weather the eternal snows of Mont Blanc are 
visible. This is Calvin's town, and Voltaire's village is 
but a few miles away. 

I said I was glad when I arrived here. Seven months' 
constant traveling is enough to satisfy almost anyone for 
one year. If one seeks happiness in wandering, he suc- 
ceeds no better than than the Spaniards did in their search 
for the fountain of youth. In Germany I was told that par- 
adise was in Italy ; in Venice they said it was farther down 
the peninsula ; in Rome and Naples they thought it could be 
found in the Alps ; in the mountains I was told to look for 
it in Vienna or Berlin ; in these places I was informed that 
Eden existed in Scandinavia or Russia ; but I failed to find 
it ; I traveled pretty fast, but I was told everywhere the 
next neighbors were in paradise, yet I never could overtake 
the people in possession. The traveler is like the lover ; 
he lives at a greater strain than ordinary mortals. His 
pleasures and pains are volcanic. At times he is carried 
away with enthusiasm, and again at others he thinks the 
sun dimmer than a tallow candle and nature seems like a 
faded fresco. But in spite of all I am persuaded that one 
derives more real pleasure from good friends and good 
books than from all these weary wandermgs. In prospect 
or retrospect they seem grand, but it is a delusion. The 
sun above us we think a pros}^ thing, but at either side of the 
horizon it gilds the sky in beauty . Journey toward the 
golden East or West and they never grow nearer. The 
present will ever seem mean and the past and future lovely. 



344 A student's views abroad. 

One easily preceives the difference in the people as soon 
as he crosses the Swiss frontier from Germany. Here pol- 
itics is the universal theme of conversation and even the 
most ignorant are busily engaged in discussing the current 
problems of national or local statesmanship. In Germany 
one never talks on subjects connected with the higher pow- 
ers except among friends. I have heard the "blood and 
iron" Bismarck denounced unsparingly but it was "under 
four eyes," as the Germans say, and when speaking with 
those who knew that I am an American. What do the 
people talk: about? Well, gossip and scandal, a little, but 
principally about eatables and drinkables, a regular kitchen 
debate. The conversation one hears at a country inn makes 
one imagine the return of those old scholastics, who disputed 
with each other as to the number of angels who could 
stand on the point of a needle. The peasants discuss prob- 
lems almost as ridiculous with as much vehemence as if they 
were of vital personal interest to themselves. They grow 
red in the face, scream until they are hoarse and pound the 
tables with their fists till the glasses dance like corn in a 
popper, and all about some question which they know noth- 
ing about and even if it could be decided would not prove 
of the least interest or value . 

The newspapers of Switzerland are also a vast improve- 
ment on the German. The}' have a more independent spirit 
and although largely made up of heated discussions on 
local questions they are more interesting. The Swiss from 
their mountains look over the political combats of Europe 
almost as cooly as we do ourselves, and their press, I think, 
gives as unbiased accounts of contemporary events as is pos- 



A student's views abroad. 345 

sible at the present day. The German newspapers, which 
I said were inferior to the Swiss, are in general very unsat- 
isfactory. The English historian said that to become ac- 
quainted with a nation it is necessary to read its newspapers. 
This is only partially true of the Germans . Everyone who 
has traveled in the country must feel that they are a poor 
expression of the public opinion except in certain directions. 
The papers are made up without the least mechanical in- 
genuity in arrangement and are almost destitute of such aids 
to the reader as clearly legible head lines. The matter is 
composed of such things as a panegyric of the powers that 
be, written with Asiatic servility ; a couple of telegrams ; 
some stale dispatches copied from a London daily ; an an- 
nouncement that Bismarck's health is not so bad as is ru- 
mored ; a long account of the French war of revenge as a 
probability of the immediate future, published as a preface 
to a demand for more soldiers and taxes ; an elaborate de- 
nial of the last scare which is put forward with reservation . 
The "feuilleton" contains a part of an eternally continuing 
novel divided daily by measure without regard to chapters 
or sense, also perhaps a httle notice about the Yankees and 
an old joke on an English tourist. My synopsis is long 
but the papers themselves are very small. Indeed when I 
show a German an American paper the very sight gives 
him the headache. A Tribune or Herald would furnish 
him reading matter for a week. 

We Americans have a mistaken notion of the immensity 
of the knowledge acquired by the German people . We 
cross the Atlantic expecting to find everyone in the Father- 
land a perfect walking encyclopedia and look for nothing 



342 A student's views abroad. 

else than to be hourly reminded of our profound ignorance. 
But we deceive ourselves . I do not hesitate to assert that 
the average American is fully as well mformed on current 
subjects, fully as thoroughly imbued with the spirit of the 
age as the German . I will even say that the student of our 
country is little behind one of the same grade m the Father- 
land. Whence then comes the fame for knowledge ? From 
the specialists. There is some truth m the saying that no 
one reads a book in Germany unless he intends to write an- 
other to supercede it . The country's reputation for learn- 
ing is sustained by the scholars whose mdefatigable industry 
deserves all the praise that is bestowed upon it . The pro- 
fessional savants, who are in great part attached to the uni- 
versities, form a class which is wanting in our country. Our 
professors are forced to drudge like slaves and sing the same 
tune year after 5^ear, whereas those of Germany have com- 
paratively light tasks and are continually making independ- 
ent and progressive investigations. 

The Geneva university gives a course of popular lectures 
during the evenings in winter. They are by different pro- 
fessors on various subjects and are very well attended. For- 
eigners from the four quarters of the globe go regularly in 
order to learn the language . The themes are such as the 
voyage of the "Challenger"; the germs in the air ; papal 
intrigues in France ; the French Academy ; international 
arbitration ; but oh ! ghost of Calvin ! the course on modern 
French actors attracted such crowds that every seat was 
taken long before the lectures began, and the eulogies of 
the stage were greeted with tremendous applause. 

This popular course is delivered by the professors with 



A student's views abroad. 347 

more elegance than they are accustomed to bestow upon 
their class rooms. In America brilliant ignorance is listened 
to with more patience than tedious learning but the opposite 
is the case in Europe. I have heard professors in Germany 
deliver lectures which were no more interesting than what 
a school-boy could compile in a short time from an encyclo- 
pedia, but they met with approval because their authors 
were known as learned men. The people do not care about 
the nature of the repast but they must have the consolation 
of knowing that the cook has raised all the ingredients. 

Geneva is, I suppose, the best known city in Switzerland. 
It is associated with such famous characters as Calvin, 
Rousseau and Voltaire, and remembered as a place of refuge 
of reformers of all nations . Besides this, Americans will 
not forget the scene of the arbitration on the Alabama Claims, 
which I believe gave us fifteen millions of dollars. 

It is really a finely situated town. Toward the north we 
see the Jura range with its barren summits. Before us lies 
the lake, now covered with angry waves which dash against 
the shore ; f now still and smooth, mirroring the snowy 
peaks of the distant mountains. At times the beautiful tints 
of the water and the sun-illumined mists along the summits 
of the Jura give the scene an oriental magnificence, such as 
we generally think of as peculiar to Italy. Toward the south 
rise a number of smaller mountains beyond which appear 
the eternal snows of Mount Blanc. 

The Rhone which here flows from the lake divides the 
city in two unequal parts which are connected by a number 
of bridges. The finest of these is the magnificent Pont de 
Mont Blanc which is paved with asphalt and lighted at night 



348 

by two rows of fine candelabra. Immediately below this 
bridge is the island of J. J. Rousseau which contains a statue 
of that philosopher. He was born at Geneva in 1712. 

The city in general has a modern appearance, although it 
is true that in the older parts there are a good many dingy 
houses and narrow, break-neck lanes. After wandering so 
long in the old cities of Italy, Germany and other coun- 
tries, Geneva seemed to me like an American town. The 
modern additions can boast a great many fine buildings 
among which are various schools, the university and the 
magnificent theater, a monument to the downfall of Calvin's 
regime. The abnormal number of cafes, pensions and 
hotels in the city show that it is a resort of strangers. The 
exiled Russian nihilists and German socialists make this 
their headquarters and the seat of their printing establish- 
ments. The Germans come herein great numbers to learn 
French as it is much more pleasant for them here than in 
France. Indeed there are so many of them here that it is 
difficult for one knowing their language to learn French. In 
almost every shop there is some one who speaks German, 
and one hears it everywhere on the street. 

There are three Enghsh churches here : Evangelical Alli- 
ance, Anglican and American Episcopal. The latter con- 
gregation has a neat little chapel whose corner-stone was 
laid by Gen. Grant, The Russian residents have erected 
one of their queer five towered churches here and they seem 
to be pretty numerous. Across the street from where I 
live there is a Spanish family on the first floor and a Cana- 
dian one on the second. I do not know from what quarter 
of the globe comes the family on the third. It is plain that 



349 

strangers are not a rarety in this town and are consequently 
not lionized as they are in Germany. 

A recent number of the Augsburger Abendzeitung con- 
tained some interesting statistics on the nationality of the 
visitors to Switzerland in 1879. There were 700,000 Ger- 
mans and Austrians ; 280,000 Englishmen ; 200,000 French- 
men ; 70,000 Russians ; 60,000 Italians ; 60,000 Americans, 
and 30,000 of other nations, in all 1,400,000, which is just 
half as many as there are inhabitants . And think too that 
this army of tourists spend here 200,000,000 francs annu- 
ally ! It looks as though a mountain was a better invest- 
ment than a cornfield. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

I LEAVE GENEVA. EMBARK AT MARSEILLES FOR EGYPT. 

LAND AT ALEXANDRIA AND GO TO CAIRO. PYRAMIDS 

AND THE DESERT . 



I spent the winter very pleasantly at Geneva. My 
French teacher was Frau Nawrotil, a teacher who came 
originally from Vienna and who had lived for years among 
the French. I devoted myself entirely to the study of 
French literature and history and read a number of books 
in German, French and English, which related to the cities 
I expected to visit during the coming spring and summer. 

My room was pleasantly situated in Eaux Vives, a sub- 
urb of the city. My landlord was the florist Hiertzeler. 
His pretty daughter made sport of my French and his 
roguish son spilled ink over my best books, but that did not 
occasion any coolness between us. I boarded at restaurants 
uptown and the long walk gave me all the exercise I needed 
and kept me in good condition for the hardships of the sum- 
mer's travels. 

In March we had several fine days and in company with 
several French friends I visited Ferney, Voltaire's home, and 
and ascended the Saleve mountains which are the peaks 
.'learest Geneva. 

I left Geneva, March 26th, 1881, for Marseilles. We 
had a snow storm just before I started and as my train 



351 

dashed off toward Lyons the Saleve, Jura and Mount Blanc 
were white with their wintry covering. I spent the after- 
noon in seeing the sights at Lyons and started the next morn- 
ing down the beautiful valley of the Rhone, past the famous 
cities of Avignon, Nimes and Aries. 

As we descended the valley the signs of spring became 
more and more visible. When we reached Marseilles the 
trees were covered with blossoms and leaves. 

At half past 9 Tuesday morning, March 29th, the steamer 
Euxene, upon which I embarked, cast loose her moorings 
at Marseilles, and began her voyage to Alexandria . The 
weather was cloudy and windy, but not cold. For some 
hours we hugged the French coast so closely that the towns 
could be distinguished among the hills. From Toulon we 
turned into the open sea toward Sardinia . The evening 
brought us a violent wind and rain, which continued the 
following day. However, I escaped, as hitherto, the mis- 
fortune of getting sea-sick. 

Wednesday morning we sighted Corsica and Sardinia, 
and some time later passed between them through the Strait 
of Bonifacio. To the right of us lay Garibaldi's home, the 
little island of Caprera. 

Wednesday passed without the occurrence of anything of 
note. The waves were high and a good many were sick. 
When I left Geneva I said farewell to the German language, 
not expecting to hear any more of it for some months to come. 
I was therefore agreeably surprised to find a Swiss among 
my fellow-passengers. He went with us only as far as 
Naples, but I spent a good deal of time in conversing with, 
him, as German comes more natural to me than French. He 



352 A student's views abroad. 

was very sick, all because he had eaten a bit of fat meat, 
he said, but that is a delusion to which all sea sick persons 
are subject. They always ascribe their malady to the last 
thing they have eaten, but it comes just the same, whether 
they eat fat or lean. 

Thursday morning the Ponza Islands came in sight, and 
at noon we anchored in the harbor at Naples. Here I bade 
farewell to the Swiss and to an English fellow-passenger, 
and, in company with a Frenchman, went ashore to spend 
the few hours of our stay in the city. 

How familiar the old place looked ! The same narrow 
streets, the same indolent loafers ; the same impudent hack- 
men, who snap their whips in your faces at every pace and 
shout their eternal " qui ! qui ! " 

We walked the whole length of the grand Strada di 
Roma to look at its gay shops. Then we returned by the 
narrow lanes where Neapolitan life is seen untouched by 
Northern influence. Every one sits at his door to carry on 
his trade . A mother can conceive of no better place to 
chase the vermin on her children than at the front door. 
There she has advantage of the light, and she need feel no 
scruples of modesty, for all the neighbors are doing the 
same. And amid all this filth, vermin, beggary and misery, 
are the people gloomy ? Not in the least. They shout and 
laugh, and sing like the merriest men in the world. 

Leaving the narrow byways we went out to the small but 
brilliant park to see the moneyed world driving in the Rivi- 
era de Chiaji. This is the Bois de Boulogne of Naples, 
and those versed in local gossip could doubtless tell great 
tales of the people who dash by in their carriages. At this 



A student's views abroad. 353 

season of the year the park is thronged with visitors of all 
nations. 

When we returned to the ship at night we could see the 
flames of the Vesuvius as well as the long stretch of lava 
which is flowing down the side . At midnight we steamed 
out of the harbor and turned toward the south . All day Fri- 
day we were in sight of the Lipari Islands, among the most 
prominent of which is the volcanic Stromboli . At dusk we 
reached the strait between Sicily and the continent, that pas- 
sage w^hich bore such a gloomy reputation in olden times. 

I got out my Homer and read the dismal tales w^hichused 
to be circulated by the ancient mariners. I read of the terri- 
ble goddess Charybdis and of the horrible Scylla, who 
watched on the opposite shore. " Not a single pilot, " says 
the poet, "who has passed Scylla's cliffs boasts of being 
spared." And for all that we steamed quietly through the 
strait without a thought of harm . The Italian shore is an 
abrupt rock, while the Sicihan is flat near the water. It is 
remarkable that the old blind poet knew the country so weU. 
After we had passed the strait it grew dark, and the long 
rows of lamps on one side marked the city of ^Messina, while 
on the other were those of Reggio. 

Saturday morning nothing was visible but the sea ; but 
about half-past lo the Maltese coast appeared directly be- 
fore us. 

At noon we anchored in the fine harbor of La Valetta, 
the chief city of Malta. The place is protected by formid- 
able forts, and is considered impregnable. Since 1800 the 
island has been under British sovereiirntv. and it is the first 



354 

English territory I have touched in Europe. It fairly swarms 
with soldiers and sailors. 

Malta plays a great part in history as well as in fable. It 
was here that Calypso held the wandering Ulysses enchant- 
ed. Here St. Paul was shipwrecked when on his way to 
Rome. The natives tell all kinds of lies about him. I sup- 
pose they have the original fire and the snakes which figure 
in the last chapter of the Acts. At least they have the cave 
where St. Paul lived during his three months' stay. It is 
queer that all historical persons lived m caves, but I suppose 
that it is to be accounted for by the fact that they had an 
eye to the preservation of their dwellings to be shown to 
posterity. How thoughtful of them ! 

Malta passed successively through the hands of the Greeks, 
Carthagenians, Romans and Barbarians. In 1530 Charles 
V. presented it to the Knights of the Order of St. John, 
who retained it until the end of the last century. 

La Valetta is built on a number of hills, and its streets 
have a break neck steepness. The houses are of a yellow 
color, as though they were often invaded by dust . It is 
now but the beginning of April, yet the temperature at 
Malta is as warm as July in Ohio. 

The Maltese ladies have a strange sort of head-dress . It 
consists of a large piece of black silk, which they hold in 
one hand, while a whalebone keeps it extended around 
their head like a halo. 

Saturday evening v^e left Malta, steering eastward. 
There is nothing more remarkable about the Mediterranean 
than the scarcity of vessels. On the Baltic there is not an 
hour of the day that several sails are not visible. 



A student's views abroad. 355 

At Naples we took on a queer passenger. He is a Pole 
and a good Roman Catholic, with fiery wrath against the 
schismatics of his country. He is making a pilgrimage to 
Palestine, and has been to Rome. He talks no language 
that anybody on the boat understands, except a few words 
of German . He is seventy-eight years of age and the 
father of nineteen children. Where he got the idea of 
making a pilgrimage I donot know, but he says his family 
tied him hand and foot to keep him from going, but he went 
nothwathstanding. 

He set out last August with ninety roubles in money, and 
he always traveled on foot until he reached the sea. He has 
now not quite fifty cents, but is confident of making his way 
by begging. There is something great in the confidence 
with which he goes out into unknown lands. As I was the 
only one who understood German, he delighted to talk with 
me, supplementing his limited vocabulary by gestures. 

On Wednesday, April 6th5 we had left Malta four days 
and a half behind. The African promontor} of Barca, 
where the famous Cyrena of old once stood, had been vis- 
ible for a day and then disappeared. We knew that Egypt 
must be near. The heat was intense, forming a great con- 
trast to the snow of Geneva. At 10:30 A. M., a low line 
appeared in the southern horizon and the water about us 
grew muddy . " Voila I'Eg^^pte," cried my French com- 
rade. "Ecco la terra !" quoth the Italian. "1st das 
Aegypten ?" asked the old Russian pilgrim standing on the 
bulwarks and straining his aged eves in the eager effort to 
see the long desired land. 

Our glasses revealed the light-house and the ships in the 



35^ A student's views abroad. 

harbor at Alexandria. The coast is low hke that of Holland 
and the most conspicuous objects on it are numerous wind- 
mills, which also form a prominent feature of the Dutch 
landscape. Our attention was soon engaged by the arrival 
of the pilot boat which gave us our first glimpses of Orien- 
tal character. One at once conceives a disgust for the ef- 
feminate looking natives in their gaudy robes. The pilot 
was an ugly fellow with a set of prominent yellow teeth 
which he exhibited constantly without adding to his beauty, 
especially when he squinted through his long telescope. The 
captain regaled him with the usual coffee and he soon 
brought us safely into the harbor . 

The engines had scarcely stopped before we were sur- 
rounded with boats and as soon as the quarantine officers 
had made their examination, the Arabs came swarming 
over the rail like a lot of wolves. A dozen or so of the 
pirates laid hands on us and it seemed for a time as 
though our bodies and baggage were to be divided among 
them. The Frenchman who spoke Arabic made a bargain 
with one gang to take us ashore for a franc each, where- 
upon they drove off the others and hustled us into their 
boat. At the custom house wharf they extorted double 
fare and after our passports and baggage had been exam- 
ined we were turned over to the brigands outside. I hired 
one to carry my valise and started for the Cairo station . 

What a strange world this is ! I had dreamed of the love- 
ly women of the East with their picturesque attire. Pretty 
soon we met one . O horrors ! The poetry had not men- 
tioned the dirt . She wore a veil over her face below her 
eyes, and, considering how mortally ugly the upper section 



357 

was, I rejoiced that she spared us the sight of the other 
half. As we walked on, the other features of Oriental life 
appeared. Everywhere were the same picturesque cos- 
tumes, the same quaint booths for shops that I had so long 
admired in pictures, but they all had one quality I had neg- 
lected m my imagination's dream, and that was the omni- 
present dirt. 

My guide soon conducted me across the public square in 
which stands the equestrian statue of Mohammed Ah, the 
founder of the reigning dynasty. As is well known, pic- 
torial representations of every class were forbidden by 
Mohammed in his zeal to root out idolatry, and it was with 
some difficulty that the faithful could be persuaded to per- 
mit the erection of Mohammed Ali's statue. But now 
Cairo has also an equestrian monument and the photog- 
raphers seem to be well patronized by the richer natives. 

When ni}^ guide reached the station he generously at- 
tempted to extort twice as much from me as he had agreed 
to take when he started. I referred the matter to two black 
policemen and after much loud talking in indifferent French 
and worse Italian, they drove away my persecutor leaving 
me a victor on the field of battle. 

Finding that that the Cairo train did not leave until ten 
P. M., I deposited my luggage with a station official and 
started out to see the sights of Alexandria. I first turned my 
steps southward outside of the city gates and disregarding 
the doubtful temptations of numerous hovels by the wayside 
with such signs as "British Bar," and "American Drinks," 
I continued my course along a dusty road until I reached 
an Arab cemetery. Upon a hill near by rises in a fine Cor- 



358 

inthian pillar of granite one hundred and four feet high, 
called Pompey's column. It does not take its name from 
Csesar's great opponent, but from a Roman prefect of a 
later date and it was dedicated to Emperor Diocletian. It 
is thought by some to have once borne a statue of a 
horse of which the following story is told : When Diocle- 
tian had captured rebellious Alexandria he ordered thai his 
soldiers slay the people until the blood reached his horse's 
knees. His steed however stumbled over a corpse and fall- 
ing on its knees in blood, the emperor declared his com- 
mand fulfilled and ordered the carnage to be stopped. The 
people in gratitude erected a statue to the horse. 

An unknown Arab writer of the twelfth century is quoteci 
by Maxime du Camp in his book " Le Nil, " as saying, that 
Pompey's column belonged to a lot of three hundred, with 
which the genii built a grand audience chamber for King 
Solomon. He says the "columns are of red marble, shaded 
with divers colors, brilliant as the shell of Venus of Arabia 
the Blessed, polished like a mirror and reflecting images." 
"Among them there is one which moves and inclines toward 
the east and west at the moment of the rising and setting of 
the sun. j;C'est la une chose merveilleuse." 

There is one good thing about the old world : they tell a 
nice story about every spot of interest. I cannot help think- 
ing that if our political campaign liars would turn their in- 
ventive genius in this direction, our rocks and woods might 
soon be alive with fairies, and thick with enchanted castles 
filled with fair princesses and noble knights waiting for some 
one to break the spell which holds them fast. 

While I was standing gazing at the column a little native 



59 



girl came and begged for backsheesh, that miserable word 
which nngs eternally in the traveler's ears everywhere in 
the Orient. She knew a little English, for the beggars know 
it pays. 

I stopped at one place to buy some oranges of a dealer 
and he proved to be a native of Athens, Greece, who had 
spent some years in California and had become an American 
citizen . He seemed glad to see me and talked some time, 
but his interest in me vanished when I refused to buy some 
mining stock which he had on hand as a memento of his 
American travels. A tourist meets some strange people. 

After dark I continued to wander about the streets until 
train time. The city at night made me half believe I was 
in Italy, as it was very similar to the older quarters of Naples. 
The dirt and noise reign supreme in each and the fleas take 
away one's inclination to stand still or sit down . Homer 
makes Menalaus say in recounting his adventures to Telem- 
achus : 

"There is an isle 
Within the billowy sea before you reach 
The coast of Egypt,— Pharos is its name,— 
At such a distance as a ship could pass 
In one whole day with a shrill breeze astern. 
A sheltered haven lies within that isle, 
Where the good ships go forth with fresh supplies of water." 

When Alexander passed through the country he chose 
that spot for the foundation of the famous seaport which 
still bears his name. After his death Ptolemy Soter took 
possession of Egypt and extended and improved Alexandria. 
He founded the Museum and assembled the great philoso- 
phers and scientists which under himself and his successors 
have rendered the institution famous. He also began the 
light-house on the island of Pharos, which was then con- 



360 A student's views abroad. 

nected with Alexandria by a long causeway, but which is 
now part of the mainland. This light-house was finished 
under Ptolemy Philadelphus and was the first one ever 
built. The name Pharos is perpetuated in the French word 
for light-house, "Le Phare," and the Itahan, "II Faro." It 
was at the Museum that the Greek translation of the Old 
Testament was made by the Seventy. It was there that 
Euclid, Theocritus, Aristarchus and hundreds of other fa- 
mous men lived and wrote. But they are gone and not a stone 
remains to tell where once the Museum and the Serapeum 
stood . 

Alexandria is associated with Cagsar, Cleopatra and Mark 
Antony ; it was honored by the lovely and learned Hypatia; 
it was disgraced with the interminable brawls of Christians, 
Jews and Pagans, whom Hadrian calls all "astrologers, in- 
terpreters of signs and quacks." In its palmiest days the 
city had half a milHon inhabitants. Hadrian wrote : "No 
man's hands here are idle. At one place glass is manufac- 
tured, at another paper, and at another linen . All these 
busy people seem to carry on some kmd of handicraft. Men 
with gouty feet, blind persons, and even those with gouty 
hands, all find some occupation." Alexandria was taken by 
the Arabs A. D. 641, and sank into insignificance. At 
present it is gaining in prosperity and already numbers more 
than two hundred thousand inhabitants . 

There is perhaps no country in the world which is re- 
garded with such a general feeling of interest as Egypt . It 
is associated with our first recollections through the Mosaic 
accounts with which we become familiar in infancy. His- 
torians turn to the valley of theJNile for their earliest rec- 



A student's views abroad. 361 

ords of civilization. Scientists trace the origin of their 
specialities to the Egyptians, whom the greatest of the 
Greeks and Romans were glad to claim as their masters. 
Farmers and mechanics note with interest the queer ways 
in which their own professions were carried on in that 
strange country. 

The distance from Alexandria to Cairo by I'ail is one 
hundred and thirty-one miles. I started by the 10 P. M. 
train which is due at Cairo about 5 o'clock in the morning. 
It was with much impatience that I awaited the dawn as the 
train rolled slowly along. The growing light soon revealed 
broad fertile fields of golden grain, for wheat is there ripe 
in April. The country might be easily mistaken for an 
American prairie, were it not for the palm trees and swarthy 
natives in blue robes who were going to work in the field 
with long strings of camels. 

The latter were somewhat shabbier looking than those 
which travel with the circus. Their hair was nearly all 
worn off and their skin looked as black and nasty as a tar- 
paulin. They are steady walkers and turn aside for neither 
man nor beast. Their stomachs are vigorous, being able to 
digest anything from a bucket of water to a keg of nails. 
When on the march they have a sort of a jerking and pitch- 
ing motion which has the same effect upon the uninitiated 
as the rolling of a ship. 

Modern Cairo lies a little north of the site of a city called 
New Babylon which was founded by Cambyses about 525 
B. C. and was garrisoned by a legion during the supremacy 
of the Romans. Their fortified camp can still be seen. When 
Khalif Omar's General Amr ibn el-Asi besieged the city 



3^2 A student's views abroad. 

he pitched his tent on the site of Cairo. After the capture 
of the place he ordered his tent to be taken down, but as it 
was discovered that a pigeon had built its nest upon it, he 
directed that it should be left standing until the young birds 
could fly. After the taking of Alexandria he returned to 
his tent and a city sprang up around it, which from this cir- 
cumstance was called Fostat which means a tent. The 
walls of the modern city were commenced when the planet 
Mars was crossing the meridian. Therefore the Arabs 
called the place Masr el-Kahir which means Egypt the Vic- 
torious. The European name for the city is derived from 
the adjective. The French Le Kaire and the Italian II 
Cairo still preserve the article, but in German and English 
it has been dropped . 

Cairo has about 400,000 inhabitants and is the largest city 
in Africa. It lies nine miles south of the point where the 
Nile divides and has been termed by somebody "the most 
beautiful diamond on the handle of the green fan of the 
delta." , 

Like all modern Oriental cities Cairo has two distinct di- 
visions. The one contains the fine villas in European style 
with their lovely gardens where eastern fertility is aided by 
western skill ; it contains too the shops where European 
articles are sold and which vary from Parisian elegance to 
Oriental filth. The other quarter contains the older part of 
the city where native character is seen uncontaminated by 
foreign influence. 

The center of European Cairo is the Ezbekiyeh Square, a 
park of some twenty acres, nicely laid out and planted with 
fine flowers, shrubs and trees, which present a luxuriance of 



3^3 

growth and beauty of color which is peculiar to the warmer 
climates. The principal hotels and shops are around this square 
and it is the favorite promenade of both natives and foreign- 
ers. An Egyptian military band plays there every afternoon. 

Louis Pascal, thus describes the tourists on the Ezbekiyeh 
in his " Le Cange ; Voyage en Egypte : " " One meets there 
the English traveler with his impossible dress and outlandish 
hat ; the Frenchman is made known by the mocking smile 
which wanders over his lips and the unabashed way (sans 
facon, Ungenirtheit) in which he stares at the w^omen. One 
recognizes the American by his loud voice, his bad-manner- 
ed forwardness, his incessant emission of saliva and the 
benevolent regard he addresses to his good friends the Eng- 
lish." 

The Native Quarter begins but a short distance from the 
Ezbekiyeh. The bazaars at first have a European appear- 
ance but a little farther on they are entirely Arabian. One 
of the first things I did was to purchase a fez at one the 
shops. This is a red skull cap with a black silk tassel which 
is worn by everybody from a sultan to a donkey driver. I 
did not particularly admire that sort of head dress, but I 
donned it to keep off the beggars which hats in that country 
are sure to attract. It may flatter one's vanity to have peo- 
ple think he is a nabob, but for an impecunious traveler it is 
a too expensive opinion to encourage. My fez did not pro- 
tect me from the rays of the sun but I think it did protect 
me somewhat from the beggars. I wore it about six weeks 
and got so well Africanized that when I accidentally met one 
of my old college professors on the street at Paris he failed 
to recognize me. 



3^4 A student's vikws abroad. 

The Bazaars are generally divided according to the nature 
of the stuffs sold. Thus there are bazaars of shoemakers, 
jewelers, copper smiths, book binders, woolen merchants 
and dealers in spices and perfumes. The whole neighbor- 
hood of the latter is pregnant with the odors of Araby the 
Blest. Even the much married Mohammed said : " there 
are two things in the world which dehght me, women and 
perfumes. These two things rejoice my eyes and render 
me more fervent in devotion. " They both seem to be held 
now in the same favor among the followers of the prophet. 

The bazaars are merely collections of little shops only a 
few feet deep where the whole stock can be seen at a glance. 
The merchant sits tailor fashion smoking or casting up his 
accounts. When a customer comes in he orders coffee and 
the two quarrel over the price of the goods for hours in the 
perfect conviction that time is not money. 

The Orientals are like children and do not attempt to re- 
strain their passion, consequently they make a great deal of 
noise, whether they are mad or merry. Nothing can conve}^ 
any idea of the Babel of noises one hears on the Muski, the 
principal street of the Arab quarter of Cairo. Here comes 
a bearded and turbaned native with a long spouted jug on 
his back, rattling two metal cups and loudly bawling : "Con- 
fection, O sugar for a nail, O confection ! " He will sell you 
a sweet drink or trade it to you for nails and old iron. Then 
come water carriers with big black skins on their backs. 
Ice they have not, but they have kullehs or porous bottles 
which make the water of a pleasant temperature. Then 
there are hawkers of every imaginable article which they 
cry out in their own peculiar style. Just as you are intent 



365 

on looking at some shop a muscular fellow in white toga and 
gold embroidered vest dashes past you swinging a stick and 
whooping " guarda u-ah ! u-ah ! " Then you know you 
must squeeze up against the wall for a carriage is coming 
and the lane is narrow , Every minute you will be run down 
by a donkey if you don't heed the driver's shrill cry, "she- 
malak ! " which seems to rhyme with the continual whack 
of the whip over the beast's back. 

A German traveler, Herr Goltz, says : "In the Boulevards 
of Paris and London Bridge I saw but the shadow, and at 
Alexandria the prelude only, of the Babel of Cairo, to which 
the Roman and Venetian carnival is tame and commonplace. 
These marvelous scenes cannot fail to strike everyone, and 
particularly the uninitiated new comer, most forcibly. In or- 
der to enjoy them thoroughly, one cannot help wishing for 
eyes behind, as well as before, and for the steady power of 
forcing one's way possessed by the camel of burden. " 

On the south-east side of Cairo rises the citadel which 
commands the city with its cannon, but which is itself sub- 
ject to the batteries on the higher summits beyond . It is an 
interesting old pile of irregular shape . The walls were 
erected in ii 66 with stones from the smaller pyramids of 
Gizeh. It was in the citadel that Mohammed AH on March 
1st, 1811, caused the Mamelukes to be murdered to the num- 
ber of four hundred and seventy. Amin Bey made his 
horse spring from the wall into the moat and escaped. They 
still point out the spot where he took his famous leap. 

The Alabaster Mosque of Mohammed Ali which stands 
within the citadel is one of the most prominent landmarks 
of Cairo . One hesitates whether to admire most the match- 



3^^ A student's views abroad. 

less beauty of the material, when viewed closely, or the ex- 
quisite symmetry of form of the mosque when seen from the 
desert miles away. The shapely dome and the lofty, yet 
slender and delicately built, minarets have an appearance so 
full of grace, that it can neither be imagined nor described. 

Afer putting straw shoes over my more vulgar northern 
pedal coverings I passed in and made my first visit to a Mo- 
hammedan mosque. The sacristan led the way across the 
broad outer court into the edifice proper. The floor is car- 
peted with the thick rugs of native manufacture. In one 
corner is the tomb of Mohammed AH, the founder of the 
reigning house of Egypt and one of the principal promoters 
of its moo^rn improvement. 

The minarets are the most striking feature of Arabian 
architecture and are the first objects visible in approaching 
a city . They are lofty, slender towers, having an outside 
gallery near the top where the muezzin stand when they call 
the faithful to prayer. Their chants are the most charac- 
teristic sounds of a Mohammedan town. They are said to 
be generally blind men in order that their elevated position 
may not give them too much knowledge of what is going on 
in the harems below. 

When Mohammed made his night journey to Jerusalem 
and to the seventh heaven, tradition says he received from 
God fifty daily prayers to be recited by the faithful . In 
coming out of the Almighty's sanctum the prophet met 
Moses, who, on hearing the news, told the young apostle of 
his ill success with the stiff necked Jews and prevailed on 
him to go back and ask the Lord for a diminution of his 
task. This was repeated a number of times until he had re- 



367 

duced the demand to five prayers a day, but still Moses was 
not satisfied. Thinkest thou to exact five prayers daily from 
thy people- ? By Allah ! I have had experience with the 
children of Israel and such a demand is vain : return there- 
fore and entreat still further mitigation of the task." "No," 
replied Mohammed, "I have already asked indulgence until 
I am ashamed." So the faithful ever since have had five 
prayers a day. 

The women in the Orient are not religious . The men 
seem to think religion their monopoly and do not encourage 
their wives to attend to the ordinances of the prophet. In 
the east the men, while in the west the women are the 
most willing victims of superstition . The Koran counts a 
woman but half a man and requires the testimony of two 
women to counter-balance that of one man. "The hair 
is long, but the mind is short," says an ungallant proverb of 
the east. 

Within the citadel is the well of Joseph, into which he 

was put by his wicked brothers . It is 280 feet deep and is 

cut through solid limestone rock . It was made under the 

.rule of one Joseph, five or six centuries ago. x\s it was 

called Joseph's well it had to be identified with the famous 

,i0ne of old. That is the way they make legends. 

My guide through the city was a native of Cairo who had 
lived with an English family at Suez and had made a voyage 
to India . He spoke tolerably good English and was friend- 
ly . He wore a long variegated robe which reached almost 
to his red low cut shoes . On his head he had a red fez 
round which was wound a long white scarf thus forming a 
turban . The colors of turbans vary. Green is worn only by 



368 

the descendants of the prophet and the Mecca pilgrims. 
Mohammed himself wore a turban, for he said " the turbans 
were worn by the angels, and in arranging it he let one end 
hang down between his* shoulders, which he said was the 
way they wore it. " 

I sat for some time with my guide Hasan at a street cafe 
drinking native coffee and watching the passing people. 
Oriental coffee is made by putting the ground coffee and the 
sugar into a brass cup which has a long handle and, after 
pouring hot water in, letting it boil a few minutes. Usually 
only enough is made at a time to fill a tiny cup not more 
than a third the size of ours. Only the top can be drank 
as the bottom is full of grounds. The natives frequent the 
cafes in great numbers . They all smoke cigarettes or water 
pipes. 

The tombs of the Khalif s, which lie in the desert north-east 
of the citadel, form the most picturesque sight near Cairo . 
They were once richly endowed tomb-mosques of Eg3^ptian 
sultans. But their revenues have been confiscated and they 
are going to ruin . Their domes are magnificently shaped, 
their minarets pleasing, and the half fallen condition of their 
structures in the midst of the barren desert awakens a feeling 
of awe mingled with admiration. Between these tombs and 
the city is a range of hills of sand from whose summit a re- 
markable view is obtained . Far as the eye can reach to- 
ward the east and west lies the cheerless desert, emblem of 
eternity, whose treacherous sands baffle the skill of man . 
Beyond the narrow valley of the Nile rise the pyramids, 
monuments of a forgotten age, whose hoary sides scorn the 
attacks of time and the human race . They have seen many 



A student's views abroad. 369 

generations of men till the fertile valley and pass into ob- 
livion. At our feet we see the great city of Cairo with its 
varied races of men. Behind us are tombs of sovereigns 
whose power has not availed in keeping their burial 
mosques from ruin. Few scenes in the world indicate in such 
a marked manner the transitoriness of fame and fortune. 

Some Arab children came to me to beg and interrupted 
my reverie. They usually say "Backsheesh, yah Kha- 
wageh !" which means "O Sir ! a gift !" The dusky imps 
on this occasion abbreviated their request to "Backsheesh, 
hog, hog ! " which to English ears has no complimentary 
sound. 

In the eastern quarter of the city near the bazaar of the 
bookbinders is a mosque now used for a University. It has 
over ten thousand students whose energies are devoted to 
committing to memory the Koran and a lot of old books 
based upon it. Their learning is useless and antiquated. 
Mohammedism like all other religions successfully inculcates 
an indifference to death, but it is fatal to the development of 
the human mind. Doubt and criticism like the grinding of 
a diamond have a destructive result if driven to extreme, 
but they are all that give value to the crude material which 
would otherwise be worthless. It is sad that western re- 
ligions have placed errors in doctrine on a lower scale than 
the most heinous crimes, but how much they are surpassed 
by Mohammedism will be apparent from the following : Ibn 
Batutah, a traveler from Tangiers, visited Mecca in the four- 
teenth century. He relates that "one day a lawyer named 
Aboul Abbas fell into the gross error of saying that Hosein, 
son of AH, left no posterity. The emir of Medina, justly 



370 

enraged, wanted kill to him. Yielding to intercession how- 
ever he contented himself with his banishment from the city. 
They say for all that he sent some one after him to assassin- 
ate him ; and it is certain that no one has since heard any 
tidings of him." The writer concludes with the pious wish 
that we may all be delivered from such damnable errors. 

The Dervishes are interesting to the European traveler. 
I went one Friday afternoon to see them, visiting first the 
dancing dervishes. These are men of various ages dressed 
in a close fitting vest and a short skirt . They close their 
eyes, stretch out their arms, and revolve on their left foot by 
propelling themselves with the right one . Their motion is 
regulated by soft strains of music from a gallery and in 
their revolutions they display a surprising skill and grace. 

The howling dervishes are not of so pleasant a character. 
A row of men with long hair stand before their leader and 
rapidly move their bodies backwards and forwards to a wail- 
ing chant. At one moment their faces touch their knees 
and their hair reaches the ground. At the next they bend 
back with their disheveled locks flying out behind them . 
These ecstatic movements are often continued until they fall 
into convulsions. To a European nothing can be more dis- 
gusting, or contain less of devotion. 

The Khedive of Egypt has a palace at Shubra, a village 
two miles and a half north of Cairo and it is connected with 
the city by a broad avenue bordered by stately sycamores 
and lebbek trees. This is the favorite drive of wealthy 
natives and foreigners. The aristocratic ladies of the harem 
imitate those of Constantinople in wearing a thin veil over 
the lower part of the face which gratifies their vanity by 



A student's views abroad. 371 

showing their beauty and at the same time has the appear- 
ance of conforming with the law of the prophet. The 
ladies ride in covered carriages with half drawn blinds. Be- 
fore them are generally two out-runners in gay attire whose 
business it is to warn the people in the naxrow street that a 
carriage is coming . 

Although these European vehicles are now quite common 
in Alexandria, Cairo and other cities of the Delta the gen- 
uine Egyptian means of conve}ance is the donkey. These 
useful animals serve as beasts of burden as well as for the 
transportation of passengers. They are to be seen every- 
where in and about Cairo. No matter how secluded the 
lane may be you traverse afoot, at every corner a number 
of boys will bar your path by backing their donkeys up in 
front of you and energetically rehearsing their good quali- 
ties. At any time, though it be at the dead of night, by 
shouting "ham mar !" — donkey boys — you will immediately 
be surrounded by a lot of them. 

The donkey drivers of Cairo are a bright set of fellow^s 
who have all the shrewdness of New York newsboys and 
bootblacks. They know something of the three Euro- 
pean languages currt^nt in Egypt, but they seem most deeply 
versed in bad English. It is a poor driver who cannot back 
his donkey up against you and say "you want ride ? Good 
donkey, sar !" A French traveler relates that on his jour- 
ney up the Nile one of his companions who had just been 
ashore told him that he had learned at least one Arab 
word and that was donkey, "qui veut dire un ane." He 
was surprised to hear that the natives of Upper Egypt had 
been teaching him Enghsh unawares. 



372 A student's views abroad. 

My first donkey-back excursion was to Heliopolis. The 
rider has nothing to do but sit on the animal as it is guided 
by the boy who runs behind, whipping and shouting at 
the top of his voice. I carried an umbrella to shelter me 
from the sun and the donkey was constantly kept in a gallop 
by the swift footed and nois}^ boy behind. 

Five miles north of Cairo is the Virgin's Tree, under which 
the Virgin, Joseph and Jesus rested on their flight to Egypt. 
When Empress Eugenie of France visited Egypt at the in- 
auguration of the Suez canal the Khedive presented her 
the Virgin's Tree and it is now surrounded by a beautiful 
garden. Truth however compels me to say that the present 
tree is only two centuries old. The Virgin may have rest- 
ed under some tree somewhere, so I suppose they may as 
well say this is the one as any other. 

In the neighborhood of this spot the first experiments were 
made in growing cotton which has since been so widely cul- 
tivated in Egypt, especially during the American war. The 
country as I rode along was beautiful. The wheat was just 
of a golden hue, but the other vegetation was green and 
luxuriant. 

Some distance north of the Virgin's Tree is the site of 
Heliopolis the famous city of the sun. There the richly 
endowed temple of the god Ra once was situated. There 
too were the famous schools which were visited by Herodo- 
tus, Plato and many other famous Greeks . The peasant 
now plows and reaps on the site of the once populous city, 
perfectly oblivious of the countless thousands who there 
lived and died and returned to dust . So completely has 
Heliopolis passed from existence that there seems some truth 
in Shelley's lines : 



373 

"There's not one atom of yon earth 
But once was living man ; 
Nor the minutest drop of rain, 
That hangeth in its thinnest cloud, 

But flowefi in human veins ; 

And from the burning plains 

Where Lybian monsters yell, 

From the most gloomy glens 

Of Greenland's sunless clime. 

To where the golden fields 

Of fertile England spread 

Their harvest to the day, 

Thou canst not find one spot ' 

Whereon no city stood." 

All that remains now of Heliopolis is the red granite obe- 
lisk which still stands in the plain sixty-six feet high. It is 
the second oldest monument of the kind that is known and 
has seen many millions of men come and go since Herodotus 
and Plato. 

My second donkey excursion was to the great pyramids 
of Gizeh, which are the most famous monuments of Egypt 
and among the oldest buildings in the world. At three 
o'clock in the morning I found a donkey and started. We 
soon left the lights of the city behind and crossing the great 
iron bridge over the Nile, plunged into the pitchy darkness. 
Of course the donkey driver, who was an ugly old Arab, 
demanded a fee when we were out in a dark place, but on 
meeting a prompt refusal he did not press matters . The 
Khedive has built a good straight road to the pyramids and 
has planted trees along the sides, making a nice drive. As 
it grew light and we began to meet the peasants on the road 
I had frequent applications for backsheesh. By the time I 
reached the end of my ride I had quite a following of beg- 
gars. 

The pyramids have been the wonder of thousands of 



374 

years. We possess the account of Herodotus' visit to them 
B. C. 454, and since that time they have been described by 
travelers of all ages and nearly all nations. Their object 
has been the problem for which numberless solutions have 
been presented. 

The Arabs say that the pyramids were constructed by the 
chief of the fairies before the creation of Adam. 

The tradition of the Druses says that they are the work of 
God himself and that the book of the record of human ac- 
tions is kept within them . 

Others call them the graneries of Joseph. 

Dr. Clark said Joseph was buried in the pyramid of 
Cheops. 

The Copts think the pyramids served the Pharoahs as 
thrones while reviewing their troops. 

Some modern writers have thought they were built to 
prevent the encroachment of the sand upon the fertile land. 

Procter's idea that they were constructed for astronomical 
purposes is the latest. 

The almost universally accepted explanation of the origin 
of the pyramids is that set forth by the learned Prussian 
Doctor Lepsius, the most famous living Egyptologist : "Each 
king began to build his pyramid when he ascended the 
throne. He began it on a small scale, in order that if a 
short reign should be in store for him his tomb might be a 
completed one. As years roiled on, however, he continued 
enlarging it by the addition of outer coatings of stone, until 
he felt that his career was drawing to a close. If he died 
before the work was completed the last coating was then 
finished and the size of the monument was accordingly pro- 



375 

portioned to the length of the builder's reign ; so that, had 
the progress of these structures always been uniform, it 
would have almost been possible to ascertain the length of 
each king's reign from the incrustations of his pyramid, in 
the same way as the age of a tree is determined by the num- 
ber of concentric rings in its trunk." 

The age of the pyramids is placed variously by different 
Egyptologists. Lepsius thinks they are five thousand years 
old, while Mariette reckoned it at six thousand. 

The Bedouins of the desert consider it their birthright to 
guide the visitors at the pyramids. As the morning was 
foggy 1 selected a couple of the Arabs and went to see the 
Sphinx. Its long body is buried in sand but the head is 
erect and the face wears the same smile as thousands of years 
ago, although vandal sheykhs and mamelukes have badly 
mutilated its countenance. 

We next went inside of the great pyramid. It is a pretty 
difficult task, as the passage is narrow, low and rough. 
Farther on it becomes better, but where the ascent begins 
the stones are so slippery that one can only keep on his feet 
by holding to his barefooted guides. After much scrambling 
we managed to reach the King's Chamber which contains 
the remnant of a sarcophapus but its royal owner has long 
since disappeared. The immense blocks of stone appear 
as closely joined to-day as they did thousands of years ago. 
The temperature of the interior of the pyramid is 79 de- 
grees which some people find stifling but it did not affect me 
uncomfortably. 

After again reaching the open air and resting some we as- 
cended the pyramid . A Bedouin caught hold of each of 



37^ A student's views abroad. 

my hands and leaping nimbly from step to step dragged me 
after them. They soon had me out of breath in spite of my 
frequent requests to go slow : " Pian piano : chi va piano, 
va sano. " 

The view from the summit is grand. It embraces the de- 
sert, the wondrous valley of the Nile and the brilliant city of 
the Caliphs. The impression it makes on the mind remains 
after hundreds of others have vanished. 

The guide asked me to carve my name on the stone but 
I refused to perpetuate the Lutz tribe in such a vandal way. 
Then one fellow offered for a consideration to run down the 
side of the great pyramid and up another and come back in 
twenty minutes . Not wishing to be accessory to his murder 
I again refused. We then began the descent, which I found 
harder than going up . The guides are of little use and one 
must jump down from one step to another with the sight of 
the precipice to embarrass him. It was nearly a week be- 
fore I recovered from stiffness caused by this descent. All 
the way up and down the Bedouins kept begging of me, 
but I assured them I was a poor devil and pointed them to a 
couple of Englishmen who were just driving up the hill as fat- 
ter victims. They thought I was an Italian which does not 
sa}^ much for their knowledge of that language. When I 
paid them they bade me ."Addio, signore," with pretty good 
grace for an Italian was not expected to be such a spend- 
thrift as an Englishman. 

My last excursion from Cairo was up the Nile to visit the 
site of Memphis and the pyramids of Sakkara. I set out 
on the Upper Egypt railway which is designed to extend to 
Thebes and is already running as far as Siut. 



A student's views abroad. 377 

The cars ran slowly through the green, fertile fields, hav- 
ing the desert on one side with its somber tombs of antiquity 
and on the other side the sparkling Nile with its lively assort- 
ment of sailing craft. The dust was almost intolerable on 
that rainless road and soon covered the passengers with 
white. The natives wear long mantels like sheets in which 
they wrap themselves and efiectually keep off the dust. All 
we poor Europeans could do was to turn up our coat collars 
and shut our eyes. 

Through the driving dust we frequently caught glimpses 
of the natives working at the eternal task of drawing water 
in shaduf buckets and of the blindfolded oxen going round 
and round turning the sakiyeh water wheels which elevate 
earthen jars attached to an endless band. 

I left the train at Bedrashen station, my ticket containing 
the name in Arabic and French . I was soon surrounded 
by donkey drivers and, on mounting what I thought the 
best donkey, was hurried over to the village where the boy 
bought some candles. He then whipped the donkey to a 
brisk gallop and we scudded along an enbankment through 
groves of palms and past crowds of peasants in their blue 
gowns. 

In a hollow about half way between the river and the de- 
sert lies the famous colossal statue of Ramses II., the great 
Sesostris of the Greeks, supposed by some to be the Pha- 
roah who oppressed the Israelites. The statue is mutilated 
but the features are uninjured and exhibit excellent work- 
manship. The royal effigy was originally about forty-two 
feet high. All around it are the scanty remains of the 
famed and populous city of Memphis, which Herodotus says 



378 A student's views abroad, 

was founded by Menes, the first king of Egypt, whose 
reign is estimated by Lepsius to have been B. C. 3,892, and 
by Mariette, B. C. 5,004. A few scattered heaps of rubbish 
which rise above the golden grain were all I saw of the 
metropolis. The ancient Egyptians gave little attention to 
the ornamentation or the solidity of their dwellings which they 
called temporary quarters, while they termed their tombs 
eternal houses and built and adorned them with the greatest 
care. We are wiser than they and if we are only comfort- 
able while living, we will not be over fastidious about our 
tombs. 

My driver kept the donkey at a brisk gallop and we soon 
reached the village of Sakkara which lies almost at the limit 
of the fertile land. From there we turned northward along 
the edge of the desert and soon were among the pyramids 
and sand covered tombs. 

We passed close by the famous step-pyramid which is so 
called because there are four terraces between the base and 
the summit which give it a peculiar appearance when seen 
from a distance. Some authorities consider this pyramid the 
work of a member of the first dynasty, the one founded 
by Menes, which would make it the oldest structure in the 
world. 

At the house of the well known Egyptologist M. Mariette 
I dismounted and guided by two Arabs descended into the 
vaults where sacred bulls of Apis were interred by the su- 
perstitious Egyptians thirty-five hundred years ago. The 
part we visited contains a long arched passage with a row 
of cells or chapels on each side in which stand the gigantic 
granite sarcophagi. All of these are now empty but in 185 1 



A student's views abroad. 379 

M. Marietta discovered one chamber still walled up, which 
was in the same condition as it was left thirty-seven hundred 
years ago. The finger marks of the mason were still vis- 
ible in the mortar and the prints of naked feet were seen on 
the sand within the vault. "Such discoveries," says M. 
Mariette, "produce impressions compared with which every- 
thing else sinks into insignificance and which one constantly 
desires to renew." 

I climbed into one of the immense sarcophagi. They 
measure thirteen feet in length, seven feet in width and eleven 
feet in height, and weigh at least sixty-five tons. It is sad 
that mankind went to such pains to immortalize a quadruped. 

From the Apis vaults we proceeded to the still more in- 
teresting tomb of Ti, who was a high officer at the Egyptian 
court five or six thousand years ago . The world would be 
little concerned about Ti or his royal master if the tomb of 
the former had not been adorned and preserved as it is . 
The walls are covered with delicately sculptured bas-reliefs 
which are appropriately painted . The scenes represent the 
every day life at the home of Ti before the dawn of history. 
The designs are remarkably good and impress one more 
than anything else could that humanity was much the same 
in those days as it is now. Among the things represented 
are the slaughter of cattle, feeding of poultry, sailing of a 
boat, reaping and threshing of grain, building of boats, sow- 
ing, plowing and hunting. Think of Feeing photographs of 
a people who were ancient when Greece was young ! 

From these interesting monuments of primaeval art we 
returned across the sand past innumerable ruins, half buried 
tombs and crumbling pyramids. The fertile soil only ex- 



38o 

tends as far as the annual flood rises and one can stand with, 
one foot on the fruitful land of the valley and the other on 
the blighting sand of the barren desert. 

My donkey was kept at a gallop by the energetic boy and 
we reached the railway station by noon. As the Cairo train 
did not come along until toward evening, I walked over to 
the bank of the Nile . The river presented a lively scene 
as boats were sailing past almost constantly. After a 
bath in the historic stream, I returned through the palm 
groves to the station and began the dusty ride to Cairo. The 
sun was just setting as we passed the great pyramids of 
Gizeh, and for a moment it was just behind the largest one 
making it glow like massive gold, one of those glorious 
sights the tourist never forgets . 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

VOYAGE FROM EGYPT TO PALESTINE. THE SUEZ CANAL. 

LANDING AT JOPPA. — JERUSALEM AND BETHLEHEM. 

THE HOLY FIRE. 

Jerusalem, April 29th, 1880. 

Another all night ride by rail brought me from Cairo back 
to Alexandria where I looked for a steamer to Palestine . 
Having determined to go by the Russian vessel which left 
the following day, I employed the intermediate time in review- 
ing the limited sights of the town . When I first arrived in 
Egypt, Alexandria seemed to me quite Oriental, but now I 
was fresh from the glories of the capital, whose praises the 
story teller so enthusiastically proclaims : " He who hath 
not seen Cairo, hath r^ot seen the world ; its soil is good ; its 
Nile is a wonder ; its women are like the black-eyed virgins 
of Paradise ; its houses are palaces; and its air is soft, its 
odor surpassing that of aloes wood and cheering the heart." 
In comparison with such Oriental splendor, Alexandria is a 
wretched imitation of a European town. 

On Easter Sunday I went on board the Russian steamer 
and at the appointed hour we left the harbor. We had a 
slight rain during the night, and the following morning we ran 
into Port Said, the northern entrance to the Suez Canal. Large 
steamers were coming and going all day while we lay at 
anchor and the Arabs had various articles for sale which 



382 

were brought from India . The great canal is one hundred 
miles long, twenty-six feet deep and from sixty-five to one 
hundred and twenty yards wide at the surface. It was be- 
gun m 1858 and finished in 1869 and cost about ninety-five 
million dollars. In 1880 two thousand vessels passed through 
the canal . The net receipts make five or six per cent, on 
the capital invested and the traffic increases every year. 

We had a rough voyage from Alexandria and when we 
left Port Said again in the evening we found the waves still 
running pretty high . During the night we had another 
rain . The majority of the passengers were seasick. 

The next morning at day break we were in sight of land 
and we stood at the rail and hailed with satisfaction the 
beautiful sunrise as its golden rays gradually illuminated the 
blue Judean hills. 

As we drew near the shore the town of Joppa became 
distinguishable and seemed of rare beaut}^ . It stands on a 
conical hill surrounded with magnificent groves of orange 
trees. Alas, that one should go ashore and walk through 
its nasty streets ! 

Joppa has no harbor, unless the dangerous reef which pro- 
tects small vessels be called one. Our steamer anchored 
about half a mile from shore and immediately drifted around 
so that the heavy rollers gave her a broadside. Dirty Rus- 
sian pilgrims with their pans and buckets and gayly dressed 
Arabs with their carpets and bed clothes tumbled about in 
delightful confusion. A great many could not resist the 
temptation, as the boys say, to "heave up Jonah, " as though 
their being on the very spot where the historic whale threw 
up the Jew, lent a new vim to their sea sickness. Just as the 



383 

ship gave a tremendous lurch, I saw one Arab roll heels over 
head down the hatchway, followed pell mell by his bundles 
and boxes. 

The native boatmen swarmed over the rail shrieking like 
a lot of pirates and a half dozen of them laid violent hands 
on each passenger and his baggage and endeavored to carry 
them in as many different ways . 

The boats were of large size, and were gathered around 
the foot of the companion ladder, which went up and down 
with the roll of the vessel, at one moment high up from the 
water and at the next coming down with a splash, threaten- 
ing to swamp the frail barks beneath. The Russian pilgrims 
would creep timorously down the ladder, invoking the whole 
calendar of saints, and being afraid to leap into the boats 
when the roll brought them close up, they were unceremon- 
iously kicked in by the Arabs . The roar of the sea, the 
curses of the sailors, the shouts of the natives and the pray- 
ers and howls of the pilgrims made a din indescribable. 

The waves washed over the sides of the boats every min- 
ute and we saw one that had capsized on the way out and 
was being paddled back by the natives up to their knees in 
the water. We got safely over the reef and clambered up 
the narrow, slippery wharf in a drizzling rain. 

Without knowing where I was going, I went with some 
well dressed Russians to the rooms of the consulate. An 
official soon came around to arrange for transporting them to 
Jerusalem. As he spoke some Italian I asked him to take 
me with the rest, to which he agreed. 

After a great deal of delay a carriage road was finally 
constructed from Joppa to Jerusalem a few years ago, and 



384 

the travelers are now taken over in rough spring wagons of 
Russian manufacture, which were first introduced by the 
German Temple Colonists. I occupied the front seat with the 
driver, who was a broad faced Swabian whose familiar South 
German accent sounded out of keeping with the Oriental 
surroundings. 

The Temple Colonists are a sect whose chief peculiarity 
consists in holding it their duty to settle in the Holy Land , 
They owe their origin to a movement in Stuttgart in 1858 
which foun d adherents in all Germany and in parts of the 
United States . The American colonists were a failure, but 
the Germans are now in a fairly prosperous condition. There 
are about three hundred near Jerusalem and about the same 
number near Joppa. A recent number of the New York 
Zeitung boasts that a German brewery, a tavern and beer 
house are flourishing before the gates of Jerusalem. 

We drove away from Joppa about three in the afternoon 
past the beautiful orange groves with their golden fruit and 
cactus hedges. A ride of several hours across the plain 
brought us to Ramleh, a town which was repeatedly won 
and lost by the crusaders, which contains a tall tower as a 
relic of those stirring times. 

I spent the night comfortably at the picturesque German 
hotel, which was filled with Englishmen, one of whom was 
just retuning from a tour around the globe. 

At daylight the next morning we continued our ride, soon 
reaching the hilly country. We halted at Bab-el-Wady for 
dinner and then entered the mountains in earnest. From 
one of the highest points we had a grand view of the whole 
far famed plain of Sharon, bordered on the west by the blue 



A student's views abroad. 385 

Mediterranean. All around us were the bleak, limestone 
mountains which were here and there crowned with decayed 
villages, the robber strongholds of other days. The grades 
were so steep and the wagon road so winding that we often 
left the carriage and out-distanced it afoot . After going up 
and down what seemed to be an endless number of hills we 
finally approached the holy city . The traveler who arrives 
from the north or south may rave about his first impressions, 
but those who come up from Joppa have no opportunity to 
be sentimental. They can see nothing until they are nearly 
at the city gate, and before they have time to appreciate the 
situation they are besieged by beggars and porters innum- 
erable . They only have opportunity to see a wall enclosing 
what the distance might transform into a myriad of domes 
but which in the close view resemble the tops of so many 
country bake ovens. 

For centuries unnumbered pilgrims have wept with joy at 
sight of the promised land, but in these later days Jerusa- 
lem and Bethlehem are merely way stations on the tourist's 
route and are chiefly remembered for their beggarly accom- 
modations for the traveler . The ideal element is all but 
vanished, I am not sure but that it is unsatisfactory to visit 
Palestine . Room is found in the holy writ to tell how the 
patriarchs girded up their loins and went hither and thither, 
how shepherds strove with each other, and endless other 
trifling details of everyday life which are surrounded in our 
minds with a halo of glory. It jars painfully on our natures 
to visit this land which we consider so near the heaven of 
our dreams and find that its hills resemble the hills of our 
native soil, only more barren, and in the holy city meet with 



386 

degraded beings, animated by the basest passions that move 
mankind. In Palestine the traveler may say with a pecul- 
iar feeling : 

There was a time when meadow, grove and stream, 
The earth and every common sight 

To me did seeia, 
Appareled in celestial light, 
The glory and the freshness of a dream 
It is not now as it has been of yore :— 
Turn whithersoe'er I may 
By night or day, 
The things which I have seen, I now can see no more !" 

As the Greek Church uses the old calendar, which is 
twelve days behind ours, they celebrated their Easter April 
24th, The first ceremonies began on Thursday in the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. They set up a sort of 
scaffold in the piazza before the church, and then thirteen of 
them gave a representation of the last supper in a very real- 
istic style which recalls the old mystery plays of Europe . 

The church covers the spot which has been considered 
the genuine tomb of Jesus since the time of Constantine, 
but many doubt its verity, especially as so many other leg- 
ends are told in regard to the place. One is surprised to 
find it in the midst of the city when the Bible narrative leads 
one to look for it beyond the walls . Upon entering the 
church we pass the Turkish guards who are sitting cross- 
legged in one corner and endeavoring to pass the time by 
smoking and. drinking coffee. Then we reach the slab 
where Christ's body was anointed, which is surrounded by 
immense candelabra. Pilgrims are constantly kissing the 
stone. Farther on is the spot where the women stood while 
the anointing was taking place . Before us is the dome un- 
der which is the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher . 



A STUDENT^S VIEWS ABROAD. 387 

It is a large, marble-covered structure, entirely above 
ground. The outer chapel is that of the angels, and con- 
tains a part of the stone they rolled away. Then we enter 
the tomb itself, which is small, and contains an altar, upon 
which the body rested. The pilgrims of all nations crawl 
in upon their hands and knees and cover the place with kisses. 
When the chapel is- illuminated with its hundred lamps 
upon the exterior it makes a magnificent appearance . I 
went around last night to see it, and had the misfortune to 
be locked in the church. It seemed rather a gloomy pros- 
pect to spend the night there with the chanting monks, but 
a Greek priest helped me to squeeze through the loop-hole 
in the door, while two Arabs upon the outside pulled me by 
the feet. 

Opposite the sepulcher is the Catholicon or Greek Chapel, 
which is the richest in the church. In the middle of it is a 
fragment of a column which, according to the priests, marks 
the center of the world ! It was an interesting sight to see 
this chapel crowded with the rough old Russian pilgrims, 
each holding a lighted candle. Their wrinkled faces and 
eyes dim with age were all aglow with joy . They seemed 
to have attained their ideal of happiness. The other parts 
of the church contain chapels to various saints, and one to 
commemorate the findmg of the "true cross." By the side 
of the stone of the anointing a flight of stairs ascends to a 
chapel that marks the site of Mt. Calvary. The places 
where the true crosses stood can still be observed. Beneath 
is the Chapel of Adam, who was buried there and brought 
to life by the blood of Christ, which flowed through a cleft 
in the rock upon his head. Melchisedeck is buried around 



388 A student's vikws abroad. 

here some place too . The priests have made one grand 
effort to embrace within the walls of this church, every prom- 
inent incident recorded in the Bible, and the result is one 
of the most startling medley of legends imaginable. 

This, then, is the scene of the Easter ceremonies. Friday 
evening there is a sort of a service, but Saturday is the great 
day, for then takes place the miracle of the sending down 
of the holy fire. Early in the morning the vicinity of the 
sepulcher begins to be crowded with pilgrims from all parts 
of the Orient, each holding a bunch of tapers to be lighted 
with the heavenly fire. By noon all the galleries and tem- 
porary scaffoldings are full, as well as all the area available 
upon the ground. 

I took my stand a short distance from the sepulcher, in 
one corner where I could see the crowd very well. 
When all seemed packed to its utmost capacity, a band of 
swarthy, bare-footed pilgrims would dash up with a grand 
war-whoop, push all before them, cHmb up the columns, and 
were only stopped by the whips of the Turkish soldiers. 
Then the band would form a circle and execute a war 
dance, flourishing their candles aloft and clapping their 
hands . 

Then a couple would climb upon the others' shoulders and 
perform the dance at that height. They continually chant- 
ed monotonously at the top of their voices : "O Jews ! O 
Jews ! your feasts are the feasts of monkeys, but the Lord 
hath redeemed us ! This is the sepulcher of the Lord," etc. 
Pretty soon another mob would dash up and the first would 
be pushed aside for a moment. Then they would rally and 
have a fight, and the Turkish soldiers would run up and 



A student's views abroad. 389 

whack them over the head right and left with their whips . 
I have always despised the Turks, but this time I was aston- 
ished at their moderation . If I had been in their position, I 
would have laid on a good deal harder. 

These chants, war dances and skirmishes began at noon 
and continued three hours . The holy fire usually descends 
at 2 o'clock, but either for want of sufficient fervor in pray- 
er or some other cause it did not arrive until 3 o'clock. The 
lamps were extinguished and a procession of the clergy 
moved around the church while the patriarch was within 
the sepulcher. At length the holy fire came down (from 
the patriarch's match box, I suppose) and was passed out to 
the pilgrims, some of whom pay large sums to the priests 
to be the first to light their tapers. In a few minutes thou- 
sands of candles are in a blaze and the church is completely 
illuminated. It is really a fine sight. The people in the 
galleries let down candles upon strings and draw up the fire. 
The pilgrims pass their candles over their faces and into their 
bosoms. They say it does not burn, but I saw one fellow's 
coat and another's hair in a blaze . After the tapers have 
burned a few minutes they are extinguished and carried to 
all parts of the Orient to be used on solemn occasions. 

Such is the great miracle of the holy fire which attracts so 
many visitors . It is astonishing that more accidents do not 
happen to such a frenzied multitude. This time a tempo- 
rary scaffolding fell, but as far as I can learn no one was ser- 
iously hurt. The mothers go there with their babes in their 
arms ; for what do a few lives count when we are to get the 
holy fire ? In 1834, when the church was crowded with 
some 6,000 people, a riot broke out, the Turkish guards. 



39«> 

thinking they were attacked, used their weapons, and 300 
perished in the press. 

I took a long walk this morning in the plain north of the 
city. As the walls on the other sides stand upon the brink 
of deep gorges the hostile armies of every period have car- 
ried on the operations of the siege upon this plain . It is 
sparsely covered with olive trees and contains many ruins 
and tombs. A few modern houses are also springing up 
and the only steam engine I have seen in Jerusalem is located 
near Demascus Gate which is the entrance upon the north 
side. 

About two miles from the city are the Tombs of the Judges, 
which though not genuine are certainly very old . They 
seem to be used now as a shelter for the goats which are at 
pasture on the neighboring hills and it is no agreeable task 
to climb around in them . I saw some Arabs bathing in the 
water that had been collected on the floor of another tomb. 
Rather queer use human burial grounds are put to ! The 
tombs of the kings are nearer the city and are larger. They 
are supposed to be the tombs of Queen Helena of Adia- 
bene and her descendants who are mentioned by Josephus. 
The most prominent mountain toward the north is the Neby 
Samwil which is believed to be the place where Samuel was 
born and where he was buried. The buildings upon it can 
be seen from every elevated point in the vicinity of Jerusa- 
lem. 

Near the Damascus Gate is a tomb called that of Jere- 
miah and he is said to have written his Lamentations there. 
Opposite to it is an opening under the city wall which leads 
to an extensive subterraneous quarry. I went in some dis- 



391 

tance this morning but being alone and having but a small 
piece of a candle I did not care to venture too far from the 
entrance . 

A short walk toward the east brings one to the valley of 
Jehosaphat through which the brook Kedron would flow if 
there was any water to flow . After crossing the valley we 
reach the tomb of the Virgin and her parents which is a 
subterraneous chapel to which one descends by a long flight 
of steps . Near by is the traditional site of the martyrdom 
of St. Stephen. 

A little farther toward the south is the Latin Garden of 
Gethsemane, which is enclosed by a wall and contains seven 
ancient olive trees. The Greek Garden of Gethsemane is 
farther up the hill. The road to the summit of the Mount 
of Olives ascends between them . A person with ordinary 
sense may well doubt the traditions which locate every scene 
in the Bible, but he can feel certain that Jesus often came 
to this very hillside with his disciples to converse of the 
duties of man as well as of the hoUowness of that religion 
whose proud temple he saw rising on the hill opposite. 

The Mount of Olives still bears numbers of the trees 
which give it the name but there were doubtless many 
more in the name of Christ . The summit commands not 
only the finest view of Jerusalem but also of the Jordan 
Valley, the Dead Sea and Mount Nebo. The mysterious 
lake of salt seems but a short distance away and the vege- 
tation on the banks of the Jordan can be clearly distinguish- 
ed, but a ride of nine hours through a desert region is neces- 
sary to reach them, and the Dead Sea lies 3,900 feet below 
level of the Mount of Olives . As I have not been able to 



392 

make this excursion I have gone often to enjoy the view . 
If this portion of the country was not immensely better in 
Moses' time his glimpses of the promised land from Mt. 
Nebo could not have been very encouraging. There are 
nothing but yellow hills without the faintest sign of vegeta- 
tion. 

Descending the eastern slope of the hill we soon reach 
the miserable village of Bethany where Jesus so often retir- 
ed from the strife of Jerusalem. It is about an hour's walk 
from the city and being out of sight and hearing of the capi- 
tal it afforded a resting place more like those Jesus had en- 
joyed upon the shores of the Lake of Tiberias. The mod- 
ern village is, as I have said, a miserable place and is peo- 
pled entirely by Mohammedans. It contains a ruined tower 
of ancient date and a hole in the ground which inventive 
credulity has dubbed the tomb of Lazarus. Attended by a 
couple of Arab boys with candles I descended into the cave 
by the break-neck stairs and was rewarded by seeing noth- 
ing — that is nothing but a prosy cavern lined with masonry. 

I returned to the city by the main road which passes a 
spring which is a welcome sight in this parched country . 
The slope of the Mount of OHves next to Jerusalem is cov- 
ered with thousands and thousands of Jewish graves which 
are marked merely by rough slabs of stone. The Israelites 
come from all parts of the world that their ashes may re- 
pose in the sacred soil . What obstinate fanaticism ! say 
some. What touching devotion ! say others. 

At the bottom of the ravine opposite the temple plateau 
there are four rock tombs which tradition calls those of 
Absalom, Jehosaphat, St. James and Zachariah. The one 



A student's views abroad. 393 

supposed to belong to Absalom is surrounded by a heap of 
small stones, for the Jews pelt the tomb in passing as a mark 
of their disapproval of the conduct of the ungrateful son of 
David. 

Farther down the course of the Kedron is the fountain of 
the Virgin, so called because tradition says she washed Jesus' 
clothes here. " It is deep down in the rock and is reached by 
descending some thirty steps , I arrived at it the other 
morning at the same time with a lot of Russian pilgrims 
who came to bathe in the holy fount . When I returned a 
couple of hours later 1 found only two natives in the water 
and after they had finished and some Siloan women had fill- 
ed their vessels I concluded to take a plunge too. The 
water is of an agreeable temperature and forms a large 
basin near the source about four feet deep . As the water 
is constantly being renewed it is one of the finest bath 
tubs imaginable. A tunneled channel connects it with the 
pool of Siloah which is situated farther down the ravine. 
After I had come out of the water a Musselman came down 
and went in saying his prayers. A prayer may be a good 
accompaniment for a bath but I think a cake of soap would 
be a better one. 

Opposite the fountain is the village of Siloam which is 
built among the rocks so as to be scarcely distinguishable 
from the cliff itself. Some distance farther on at the junc- 
tion of the valleys of Kedron and Hinnom is Job's Well 
which is connected with the history of another rebellious son 
of David. In spite of the fact that considerable water issues 
from these two fountains it is not sufficient to form a rivulet in 
the valley. The thirsty soil absorbs the water from the pool 



394 

of Siloah within a hundred yards of its outlet . The gar- 
dens there, however, are very fertile. 

From Job's Well the valley of Hinnom branches off to- 
ward the west. It is full of tombs which were formerly in- 
habited by the early Christian hermits . Among them is 
the traditional site of the field of blood purchased with Judas' 
bribe. This is the valley of Gehenna which the Jews con- 
sidered synonomous with hell. 

From the south-western corner of the city the road leads 
off past the German colony to Bethlehem. It passes 
through an extensive plain and then ascends a hill where 
there is a fountain whose summit commands a view both of 
Jerusalem and of Bethlehem . It then descends past the 
traditional tomb of Rachel and soon reaches the village — in 
all a walk of two hours and I went down and back quite 
comfortably in a morning. Bethlehem is the finest looking 
place I have seen in Palestine . No houses are better built 
and the artisans seem busy everywhere . In contradiction 
to the Biblical account the spot where Jesus was born is 
shown in a cave . It is marked by a large stone and is sur- 
rounded by lamps. The church above it is very old and 
was the scene of Baldwin's coronation as King of Jerusa- 
lem. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

MOONLIGHT RIDE FROM JERUSALEM TO THE SEA. ALONG 

THE COAST OF ASIA. SITE OF ANCIENT TROY. CONSTAN- 
TINOPLE. ATHENS, BACK IN FRANCE. 



Paris, June 3d, 1881. 

I took leave of Jerusalem just four weeks ago last Mon- 
day. After a farewell ascent of the Mount of Olives and 
a last visit to the Hoty Sepulcher I engaged a place upon the 
carriage to Joppa. The vehicle was to set off at two o'clock 
p. M. but in true Oriental style it went three hours behind 
time. We rolled off through the crowds of picturesquely 
attired Jews and dirty Russian pilgrims and just had time 
for a hurried glimpse of the walls of the holy city before it 
disappeared from view. 

My traveling companions were Spanish Jews, descendants 
of those expelled by the fanatical policy of Ferdinand and 
Isabella . They still retain their language, though it is said 
to be a bad dialect. The driver w^as a Russian Jew who 
spoke German also. Like all Russian peasants he was a 
jack of all trades and master of none except driving horses. 
Being a fiery young blood and a hired servant he did not 
spare his animals but dashed up and down the hills in a way 
that would have done credit to Jehu. We had not gone far 
before it grew dark and the impressions produced by riding 



39^ A student's views abroad^ 

over these historical mountains in the moonlight are of such 
a wild romantic character that they will not soon be forgot- 
ten. Crack, crack, went the driver's whip every minute 
and the little Arab horses dashed down the steep slopes 
at a full gallop . How fast the familiar places went by ! 
That dark village on the hill to the left was already the 
famous old robbers' nest of Abu Gosh , We ran up the 
hills and plunged down into the dusky ravines scattering the 
herds of cattle and sheep in every direction and leaving their 
angry drivers cursing our Jew with the hottest oaths in Mo- 
hammedan vocabulary. Eight o'clock and Bab-el-Wady 
where custom compelled even our Jehu to rest till midnight. 
A bite of lunch and a nap on the seat and then we were off 
again faster than ever for our Jew just ran down some load- 
ed donkeys and seemed to fear pursuit. Two o'clock and 
Ramleh ! W e drive through the narrow streets to the stable 
to change horses . Soon an angry German woman appears 
with an immense lantern and gives our Jehu an awful scold- 
ing for driving one of the animals to death. At four o'clock 
we were off once more and at six we reached the orange 
orchards at Joppa which were loaded with the delicious fruit, 
known as one of the best qualites in the world. 

I had scarcely reached the quay with my baggage when 
the Russian steamer appeared in the offing. One company 
of pirates who were going out to meet it agreed to take me 
along and I was soon on deck. 

The following morning we ran into the port of Beyrout. 
It is the finest looking city I had seen thus far in the Orient. 
The bright colored houses with their luxuriant gardens rise 
one above another forming a magnificent scene while to- 



397 

ward the east is the lofty Mount Lebanon with its snowy 
peaks . The streets of the city are better and the shops 
cleaner than most places in the Orient but they have too 
much of a European look for one seeking picturesqueness 
in its native filth. Our steamer lav all day in the harbor 
and as it was extraordinarily hot the snow on Mount 
Lebanon had a rather tantalizing appearance. Toward even- 
ing however some boys brought some of it on board and 
we had the pleasure of eatmg as well as seeing it. 

A.S an example of the curious people we meet in traveling 
let me mention that one of the native boatmen who brought 
us aboard at Beyrout, had been at New York and another 
had been a fireman on a rebel blockade runner. The latter 
said those were good times in those days; they got forty-five 
dollars every trip, even though it were but ten hours. 

The following day we stopped at Tripoli, an ancient look- 
ing city at the foot of some snow^ covered mountains. It 
was taken by the crusaders but at present it seems a rather 
sluggish place. I was so tired of seeing dirty Oriental 
streets that I did not go ashore. 

We stopped a short time during the night at Latakia and 
the next day at noon reached Alexandretta, a small place 
named after the great conqueror, which however has no 
share in his fame . It lies in the extreme corner of the Medi- 
terranean upon the gulf surrounded with mountains, which 
•would be beautiful were they not so desolate. The port de- 
rives its chief importance from its being on the route to 
Aleppo and Bagdad. Here I gained two companions who 
helped considerably in lightening the tedium of the voyage. 
One was a Greek fur merchant who has been traveHng in 



Z9^ 

Asia and Europe for forty years. The other was a German 
Russian who was returning from India and the far East. 
He did not give a very flattering account of Bagdad, that 
ancient capital of the caliphs which we associate involuntar- 
ily with the glories of the Arabian Nights. The two trav- 
elers spent forty-five days upon a Euphrates steamer. As 
the coal ran out they were obliged to stop and send the crew 
ashore to cut wood whenever they had the opportunity. 

After leaving Alexandretta we ran along the coast having 
the snow covered peaks of the Cilician mountains always in 
view. We stopped at a little port called Messina which is 
near ancient Tarsus. 1 little thought when I first made my 
acquaintance with this region in the narrative of Xenophon 
that I was once to see the very mountains through which the 
hopeful army of Cyrus passed. 

The following day the coast of Asia was visible on one 
side and the island of Cyprus upon the other. Then we 
passed Rhodes where the old colossus once stood astride 
the harbor. The town is surrounded by walls and has a 
decidedly antique appearance. At dark we passed Patmos 
and during the night Samos . Early the next morning we 
anchored off Chios which was recently overtaken by the 
terrible earthquake. We could not detect any traces of the 
disaster from the ship, but one of the men who had been 
ashore said the walls of the houses were in a very shattered 
condition. The calamity seems to have paralyzed com- 
merce for we halted but a few minutes and then left for 
Smyrna which we reached in the afternoon. The sight of 
the neat streets and bright shops of this city were particu- 
larly refreshing to me. Let those rave over Oriental pictur- 



A student's views abroad. 399 

esqueness who wish but for my part I prefer European 
cleanliness and comfort. We staid two days at Smyrna and 
I spent them pleasantly in the city and in rambling over the 
hills by the castle enjoying the fine views. The situation of 
Smyrna is one of singular beauty. 

We left one evening and the next morning at daybreak 
we were between the continent and Tenedos, that little island 
behind which the Greeks hid when they conducted the siege 
of Troy. And there before me was the veritable spot 
where the angry heroes and the wooden horse played their 
parts. Later we passed the narrow Hellespont where the 
haughty Persians crossed to invade Greece. Then came 
the sea of Marmora and finally the Turkish capital itself with 
its palaces, gardens and mosques . 

"Stamboul !" 

"Constantinople !" 

The Turk and Frank alike cried out with joy at the sight 
of the minarets of the famous capital as the steamer swiftly 
bore us nearer and nearer to the city of the Sultan. The 
white capped waves of the Sea of Marmora danced gayly in 
the perfect sunshine of the May morning and every passen- 
ger on the crowded vessel watched the brightly colored out- 
lines of Constantinople as they became visible amid their 
setting of somber cypress trees across the waters. 

"Vedi Constantinopoli e poi mori, see Constantinople and 
then die !" exclaims the enthusiast in the heat of his admira- 
tion for the scene which lay before us. For ages its beauties 
have inspired poets and word painters and yet all have felt 
speech inadequate to describe its transcendent glory. The 
atmosphere has a warmth and mildness peculiar to itself. 



400 A student's views abroad. 

The color of the hills, the trees, the water, the sky and even 
the buildings seem to be of a richer tint than that of any 
other clime. It is a place of all others to awaken those 
dreamy fancies that are so in keeping with Oriental charac- 
ter . 

We were hardly given time to fully admire the scene pre- 
sented to our eyes before the steamer's prow rounded the 
Seraglio point and anchor was dropped in the mud at the 
mouth of the Golden Horn . The chains were scarcely un- 
wound from their windlass, before the steamers's deck was 
crowded with boatmen. 

"Want a boat, sir ?" was demanded in all languages. 

I engaged for a guide a Polish Jew who could speak Ger- 
man and we were soon over the steamer's side and in the 
caique, or boat . We were not a hundred feet from the 
steamer before we were stopped by some Turkish soldiers 
who examined our passports and then permitted us to pass 
on to the tumble-down custom house. The examination of 
our baggage was speedily completed and we began our 
rambling over the city. The streets are narrow, winding, 
badly paved and dirty. The romance of Constantinople is 
all in the distance . The illusion is rudely dispelled by a 
nearer view. The majority of its buildings are uninterest- 
ing or positively ugly. 

The Golden Horn is a river-like inlet whose shape sug- 
gests its name and it forms a harbor capable of floating over 
a thousand ships. Kinglake says : 

"Nowhere else does a sea come so close to a city as to the 
Mohammedan capital. There are no pebbly shores, no sand 
bars, no slimy river bed, no black canals, no locks nor docks 



40I 

to divide the ver}/ heart of the place from the deep waters'. 
If being in the noisiest part of Stamboul, you would stroll to 
the quiet side of the way, amid those cypresses opposite, 
you will cross the fathomless Bosphorus ; if you would 
go from your hotel to the bazaars, you must pass by the 
bright blue pathway of the Golden Horn, that can carry a 
thousand sail of the hne;you are accustomed to the gondolas 
that glide among the palaces of St. Mark ; but here in Stam- 
boul it is a hundred and twenty gun ship that meets you in 
the streets, Venice strains out from the steadfast hne, and 
in old times would send forth the chief of the state to woo 
and to wed the reluctant sea ; but the stormy bride of the 
Doge is the bowing slave of the Sultan. She comes to his 
feet with the treasures of the world ; she bears him from 
palace to palace ; by some unfailing witchcraft she entices 
the breeze to follow her and fan the pale cheek of her lord ; 
she lifts his armed navies to the very gates of his garden ; 
she watches the walls of his serail ; she stifles the intrigues 
of his ministers ; she quiets the scandals of his court ; she 
extinguishes his rivals, and hushes his naughty wives all one 
by one ; so vast are the wonders of the deep." 

Across the Golden Horn is the famous Karakeue bridge 
of boats upon which can be seen every nationality of the 
world. It is the best place on earth to study the costumes 
of the various people of the globe. No peculiarity of dress 
can there attract the least attention because all are common. 
It is the point of contact for all mankind. 

From the bridge a line of horse cars runs through the heart 
of the city and brings some of the ideas of the present cen- 
tury into direct contact with the relics of the buried centur- 



402 

Ites . My guide and I sipped Turkish coffee at a native res- 
taurant opposite the mosque of St. Sophia, resting from our 
tramp and watching the motley throng on the street. 

The mosque of St. Sophia is one of the great churches of 
the world. It is the principal sight of Constantinople. The 
original church was founded by Constantine the Great and 
the present edifice was begun in 532. The history says : 
"Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus were the 
architects employed by the Emperor Justinian, at whose 
command the enterprise was commenced. No fewer than 
10,000 workmen are said to have been engaged under the 
direction of 100 master builders, and when the work was 
completed it cost the imperial treasury about $5,000,000. 
The principal material of the walls was brick, but the whole 
interior was lined with costly marble, and to add to its 
splendors the temples of the ancient gods at Heliopolis, and 
Ephesus, at Delos and Baalbec, at Athens and Cyzicus, 
were robbed of their columns. To render the dome as light 
as possible it was constructed of pumice stone and Rhodian 
bricks, and to secure the buildmg from the ravages of fire 
no wood was employed except for the doors." 

Since 1453, when Constantinople was captured by the 
Turks under Sultan Mohammed, the church has been used as 
a mosque. Four minarets of tall and graceful proportions 
now rise far above the shapely dome and from the galleries 
near their top the muezzin summon the faithful to prayer. 

St. Sophia is now accessible to the Infidel and my guide 
and I paid it a visit . At the door we pulled on clumsy slip- 
pers over our shoes, which is the way the Frank visitors 
are permitted to comply with the Mohammedan requirement of 



A student's views abroad. 403 

removing the shoes upon entering a mosque. One of the 
Faithful with an eye to backsheesh conducted us over the 
building and as v^e stepped around among the praying and 
kneeling Turks he pointed out the remarkable objects of in- 
terest. Our Vandal friend with the turban even picked 
some stones from the mosaics on the walls and gave them 
to us as souvenirs. 

The Sublime Porte or gateway to the Sultan's palace at 
Seraglio point, is near the mosque of St. Sophia. The name 
is used as synonymous with the imperial government but the 
gateway is far from sublime. 

We visited the hippodrome square which was the center 
of life in ancient Greek times. At the war department we 
saw dummies dressed in the costumes worn by Turkish sol- 
diers during the past four hundred years . Many of them 
are fierce looking and calculated to inspire terror on the raids 
which the Turks formerly made into western Europe. They 
would not be fit for anything but a dime museum now. We 
visited an immense subterranean reservoir and found some 
men twisting long lengths of rope in the half lighted cav- 
erns which gave them plenty of room for their labors. We 
took a stroll through the bazaars which are the commercial 
center of the modem city. The shops are not as Oriental 
in appearance as those of Syria and Egypt but the wares 
are more varied. The shopmen display truly western zeal in 
making sales. 

We continued our walk through the miserably paved and 
narrow streets, meeting everywhere the ugly yellow dogs 
which are the recognized inhabitants of the streets. Unnum- 
bered stories are told of the traits of these canine scaven- 



404 

gers of the great city and of the considerate regard in which 
they are held by the people . Strangers wonder that the 
Sultan does not have the vi hole breed dumped into Hmpid 
waters of the swiftly flowing, classic Bosphorus. 

We crossed the bridge of boats over the Golden Horn and 
strolled through the streets of Galata and Pera which are 
inhabited by the foreign element and built up in western 
style. To one returning from Asia the streets of Pera have 
an almost Parisian appearance. 

At sundown my caique carried me to the French steamer 
"Amerique" w^hich lay at anchor opposite the Seraglio and 
as the evening shadows grew darker we steamed out into 
the sea of Marmora and watched the domes and minarets 
of St. Sophia and her sister mosques fade away in the night. 

The next morning we made several stops on the Sea of 
Marmora and the Dardannelles and then reached the open 
sea. Early the following day we sighted the famous peak 
of Mt. Athos and its sister promotories. Finally v^e anch- 
ored off Salonika half a mile from shore and remained sev- 
eral days. I did not go ashore as I felt little interest in the 
place. We noted the unusual area covered by the ceme- 
teries with their tombstones and cypresses. At night we 
stripped off and took a plunge in the sea. 

Coming down the bay from Salonika we had inspiring 
views of Mt. Olympus . The snowy peaks appeared amid 
beautiful banks of clouds. We stopped some time at Volo 
where we found multitudes of Turkish soldiers and some 
men-of-war called hither by the boundary troubles with the 
Greeks. 

We lelt Volo one evening and passed the famous field of 



405 

Thermopylae at night. We paused briefly at Laurium 
and took on a large shipment of lead in bars. It was en- 
couraging to see a flourishing industry in ancient Greece. 

After leaving Laurium we passed the beautiful ruin of 
an ancient temple standing on a lofty peak by the sea. We 
then approached the ancient harbor of Piraeus and saw the 
city of Athens in the distance with the famous ruins on the 
Acropolis distinctly visible . 

The harbor was full of men-of-war and merchant vessels, 
both steam and sail. The Greek boundary disputes had 
made the little kingdom alive with military. 

It was about noon when we anchored in the harbor of 
Piraeus and were told that we would have till evening on 
shore . We quickly made a bargain with a boatman and 
set foot on the classic soil of Greece. I was accompanied 
by a Roumanian medical student who spoke German. 

Piraeus looks like a poor ItaHan town and has nothing to 
interest the tourist except its surroundings. The lovely blue 
sea and sky, the mountains m the distance and the memory of 
the great past together suggest thoughts of lasting inter- 
est. 

We found the way to the railway station and were soon 
rolling along the plain of Attica toward Athens. A railroad 
in Greece seems odd indeed . We passed near the site of 
the ancient town walls which were built to join Athens and 
its harbor at Piraeus. We crossed the old highway and the 
nearly dry bed of the Cephissus. An olive grove engaged 
our minds for a while and then the ruins of ancient Athens 
became the sole object of our attention. 

We left the train at the station at the foot of Hermes street 



4o6 A student's views abroad. 

and immediately began our ramble among the ancient land- 
marks. It seems queer enough to arrive at Athens by rail 
but on every hand we saw modern civilization pushing its 
way into the home of the people who are the real founders 
of its development . Greece taught Rome and Rome taught 
the modern world. 

We walked along Hermes street turning aside once to see 
the ruins of the Stoa of Hadrian, one of the many magnifi- 
cent creations of that Emperor . At the end of Hermes 
street is the palace of King George which is much like the 
palaces of the petty princes of Germany. 

We then turned southward toward the Acropohs and passed 
through the well preserved gate of Hadrian and soon saw the 
sixteen columns which remain of the once magnificent temple 
of Jupiter. Near this point is the bed of the famous brook 
Ilissus and the spring Callirrhoe. 

Proceeding toward the Acropolis we passed the monument 
of Lysicrates and a confused array of ruins along the base 
of the citadel hill. We climbed to the top of the Areopagus 
which was once the seat of the highest judicial tribunal at 
Athens. From thence we passed the Propylaea and enter- 
ed the Acropolis, one of the most famous places on earth. 
Amid the bewildering mass of ruins rise the Parthenon and 
Erechtheum two of the most interesting relics which have 
come down to us from the ancient world. 

In the halcyon days of Athens every citizen felt a just 
pride in the beauty of statue, painting and architecture dis- 
played in this famous citadel . Even now the sensations of 
the student of history are grand, who stands among these 
ruins and traces the outlines of the once magnificent build- 



A student's views abroad, 407 

ings and mentally restores the statues and paintings to their 
places. He can feel something of the pride which animated 
the breast of the Athenian of old when he stood among these 
triumphs of true taste and gazed on the city, the plain of 
Attica, the famihar mountains and the bright blue Aegean 
sea. 

Not far from the Acropolis is the Temple of Theseus, 
standing on an elevated plateau. It is the best preserved 
edifice of ancient Athens and owes its present condition to 
the fact that it was used as a Christian church during the 
middle ages and thus rescued from desecration. 

The Tower of the Winds and a few other scattered ruins 
are to be seen here and there in the city. In many places 
parts of ancient buildings have been incorporated in modern 
edifices . 

After seeing the principal points of interest we went to 
the post-office and I received a large stack of letters and 
papers which had accumulated forme. As we came out of 
the office a number of little Greek boys ran after me to beg 
the United States stamps from my letters and papers. I was 
surprised to see that the stamp collecting mania had reached 
even Greece. 

Towards evening we returned to Piraeus by rail and re- 
joined our friends on the French steamer, which soon com- 
menced its voyage to Marseilles. 

Modern Greece seems at present to be unfairly treated by 
the civilized world. If you pick up a book of travel you 
generally find all the bad points of Greek character referred 
to and the little kingdom seems to be a special object of 
ridicule and contempt The city of Athens is sneered at as 



4o8 

an imitation of a third class western city and its improve- 
ments are treated with scorn. 

Sixty years ago Europe and America were intensely in- 
terested in the future of the Greek nation which was then 
engaged in a heroic struggle against the Turks for independ- 
ence. Never was a similar war for liberty waged with more 
courage, more devotion, or more perseverance. The bravery 
of all classes of the Greek people in that memorable struggle 
challenged the admiration of the world . It is no wonder 
that the lovers of freedom in every quarter of the globe 
came to regard the modern Greeks as the peers of their 
famous ancestors and expected Athens to assume a place 
hardly surpassed by that maintained in its golden age. 

After the independence of Greece was recognized its 
people turned their attention to the problems of peace . A 
nation that had been oppressed for a thousand years sought 
to manage its own affairs. It could hardly be expected that 
they should escape financial and industrial difficulties. Com- 
plications arose in its government. A change took place in 
the sentiment of Europe . It became the fashion to ridicule 
the new kingdom and proclaim its people degenerate de- 
scendents of a great nation. Greece was compared with 
England, with France, or with Germany, and naturally 
enough the comparison showed the new nation in a bad 
light. Take, for instance, Edmond About's "Grece Con- 
temporaine." The witty author draws a startling picture of 
the short comings of the Greeks. You would hardly be- 
lieve that such a worthless people really waged such a heroic 
war for independence. You finish thie Frenchman's sarcas- 
tic book with a feeling of sorrow. Yet when you thmk the 



A student's views abroad. 409 

matter over you cannot help regarding About's position as 
extremely unfair. 

Modern Greece is not to be measured by France, by Eng- 
land or by Germany. The Greeks are the descendents of an 
oppressed people. They should be compared with the 
Roumanians, with the Servians, or with the Bulgarians. The 
Greeks are children of the Levant. Compared with any 
other people who have experienced the horrors of Turkish 
bondage the Greeks appear well indeed. I had a fair oppor- 
tunity to judge the Greeks something as they should be 
judged. I had been for weeks among the Egyptians, 
Syrians and Turks. To me the strides in progress visible at 
Athens seemed worthy of the highest admiration. Far from 
leaving Greece disappointed, I felt encouraged at the condi- 
tion of the Httle kingdom . We may not be able to main- 
tain the enthusiasm felt for Greece by our fathers during the 
war for independence but I am sure we should not share the 
contemptuous opinions which have been current in the last 
few years. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

IN FRANCE AGAIN. PARIS. ACROSS THE CHANNEL. LON- 
DON. STRATFORD.— AYR. — GLASGOW. EDINBURGH . 

ABBOTSFORD. LIVERPOOL. IRELAND. VOYAGE HOME. 



The voyage from Greece to Marseilles was without in- 
cident. We made a stop at Naples and had another view 
of that city. At Marseilles I received another lot of letters 
and newspapers. 1 took a draft to the " Credit Lyonnais " 
to have it cashed and was astonished to hear that they had 
failed to receive the necessary instructions from the Paris 
bank . As I only had about six dollars when I landed from 
the steamer, it began to look as though I would have to turn 
tramp in earnest. After waiting several days the difficulty 
was happily cleared up and I received my money . 

From Marseilles I made the trip to Paris by the night ex- 
press and early on the morning of June ist I left the " Gare 
de Lyon " to get my first impressions of the great capital. 
The broad boulevards and the well built houses gave early 
proof of the wealth and beauty of the metropolis. From 
the station I went to the Place de la Bastille, the site of the 
famous fortress which was taken by the insurgents July 14th, 
1789, on which date the great revolution began. In the cen- 
ter of the square rises the July Column erected to the mem- 
ory of the martyrs of 1830. 



A student's VIEWS ABROAD . 4! I 

From the Place de la Bastille I went down the Rue Riv- 
oli, long the principal street of Paris, and saw the Hotel de 
Ville, the Louvre and the Tuileries, all famous for many 
memorable events. 

Beyond the Tuileries Gardens is the Place de la Concorde, 
where the guillotine stood during the reign of terror. Louis 
XVI., Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday, Danton, Robes- 
pierre and St. Just are among the victims of the place who 
in all numbered about 2,800. In the center of the square 
now stands an Egyptian obelisk and on every side are signs 
of wealth, beauty and culture. 

Toward the west stretch the Champs Elysees, bordered on 
each side with palaces and terminated by the grand triumphal 
arch of the armies of Napoleon I. 

I crossed the Seine to the parHament buildings and the 
Hotel des Invalides where I saw the magnificent tomb of 
Napoleon I. Opposite the Louvre is the famous Academy 
and back of it is the Latin Quarter . Still farther is the 
Luxembourg palace with its art treasures. Toward the east 
are the Pantheon and the Sarbonne. On an island in the 
Seine is the grand cathedral of Notre Dame. 

I found a couple of pleasant rooms in the Latin Quarter. 
[ then secured my heavy baggage which I had shipped di- 
rect from Geneva. For the first time in two months I felt 
at home. 1 was so thoroughly bronzed by the sun that when 
I met an old friend on the street he failed to recognize me. 
I settled down to rest after the long tour in the Levant and 
viewed the sights of Paris leisurely. One day I would make 
a little excursion up or down the Seine on the little steamers. 
Another day I would spend in the galleries among the 



412 A stltdent's vikws abroad. 

treasures of art. While a third I would wander among the 
tombs of the famous dead at Pere Lachaise. I made trips 
to Versailles, Vincennes, St. Denis and St. Cloud. At the 
cafes I had ample opportunity to study the various phases 
of Parisian life, while the libraries afforded means of inform- 
ing myself thoroughly of the past. 

The charms of life in Paris are great. The resourses of 
the city for gayety or study are equall}^ good. No one can 
wonder that the Parisians think life away from Paris hardly 
worth living. I spent a month in the great city and thorough- 
ly enjoyed every minute of the time. 

At the end of June I started for London. I first went to 
Rouen, which contains some of the most beautiful Gothic 
churches in existence. Rouen is also famous as the place 
where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. I spent 
the night at Dieppe, which is quite a popular watering place 
and early the next morning took the steamer for Newhaven. 
The voyage across the channel was pleasant but a good 
many of the passengers suffered from sea sickness. I es- 
caped that misery as usual. 

From Newhaven to London is a short ride. I left the 
train at Victoria station and soon found comfortable quarters 
for a three weeks' stay. London seems very dingy and 
dirty after seeing Pans. 

I started from my quarters in the morning. Walking 
down Victoria street I came to Westminster Abbey which 
contains the ashes of more famous Englishmen than any 
other spot in England . The sensations of the student may 
be imagined when he stands at the graves of so many fa- 
mous men and women. The thoughts inspired by such scenes 
are not easily forgotten. 



A student's views abroad. 413 

Beyond the Abbey is Westminster Hall, famous for the 
greatest trials in English history. Connected with it are the 
Houses of Parliament, an immense Gothic structure. 1 went 
through the great assembly hails but Parliament was not in 
session. 

From Westminster steamers run every few minutes to 
London Bridge, from which it is but a short walk to the Tow- 
er. There can be seen the crown jewels of countless value. 
There are the dungeons which have been occupied by many 
famous victims who were led out to the neighboring hill for 
execution. The Tower is suggestive of many mournful 
memories. It is one of those places which make one glad 
that he lives in the nineteenth century. 

Returning towards the center of the city I came to St. 
Paul's cathedral, one of the largest and most magnificent 
churches in the world. Beyond St. Paul's are Fleet street 
and the Strand. 

On the second of July I was coming down Cheapside, 
when I was startled and horrified to hear the newsboys cry- 
ing an extra, "all about the assassination of President Gar- 
field." While in Europe I had been used to hearing every 
week or so that this or that sovereign had narrowly escaped 
assassination but I never dreamed that any American Presi- 
dent's life would be endangered in a time of profound peace. 
The evening papers contained but a very brief telegram con- 
cerning Guiteau's infamous act and the Sunday papers had 
nothing more . It was not till Monday that the details of the 
crime were published. From this time until I sailed, news 
from the dying President became the absorbing item of in- 
terest . 



414 A student's views abroad. 

I left London on a late night train on the Great Western 
railway, passed the school towns of Harrow and Rugby and 
stopped at Coventry in the early morning. Taking another 
train I was soon at Kenilworth viewing the ruins of the cas- 
tle which the pen of Sir Walter Scott has made forever 
famous. The crumbling walls are picturesque and their 
history makes them doubly interesting. The castle was 
built m the twelfth century and in 1565 was presented by 
Queen Elizabeth to her favorite, the Earl of Leicester. The 
latter's prodigality embellished and enlarged the castle and 
his receptions of the Queen attained an Oriental magnifi- 
cence. 

From Kenilworth it is a short ride to Stratford-on-Avon, 
the birthplace of Shakespeare, the greatest genius the world 
has seen. The house in which the poet was born contains 
many interesting relics and the church which covers his 
mortal remains stands by the river Avon where the trees, the 
sparkling stream and the fragrant fields make a charming 
sight , 

From Stratford I traveled direct to Scotland passing Bir- 
mingham and Carlisle. I ahghted at Ayr and paid a visit to 
the birthplace of Robert Burns. The two bridges of Ayr, 
Alloway Kirk, the Burns monument and Tam O'Shanter's 
bridge are among the many sights in that neighborhood 
which are made places of pilgrimage on account of their 
connection with the history of the bard. 

I went from Ayr to Glasgow and then to Edinburgh, one 
of the most interesting and most beautiful cities in Europe. 
The monuments and public buildings which embellish Edin- 
burgh give it a grand appearance. From the castle the view 



A student's views abroad. 415 

of the city and the Frith of Forth is one that becomes forever 
fixed in the traveler's memory. 

Holyrood palace on account of its association with the 
mournful history of Queen Mary Stuart is one of the most 
interesting spots in Edinburgh. The city also contains many 
places which are identified with Scotland's statesmen, war- 
riors and men of letters. 

From Edinburgh I went to Melrose, saw the famous abbey 
and Abbotsford which is crowded with reHcs of Sir Walter 
Scott, and visited the grave of the great novelist at the pic- 
turesque ruin of Dry burgh abbey . 

I went from Melrose to Liverpool where 1 embarked for 
Belfast. I spent a week on the banks of Lough Neagh 
amid the green fields of Ireland. I then returned to Liver- 
pool and took passage for New York on the "Egypt," of 
the National line. We steamed down the Mersey in the 
evening and stopped a short time at Queenstown next day. 
When the shores of Ireland disappeared below the horizon 
that night the Irish emigrants w^ere making the air musical 
with their songs. They turned hopefully to the New World 
and remembered nothing but the bright side of the home 
they had left. 

The voyage to New York was uneventful and everybody 
seemed overjoyed when we sighted Sandy Hook. On the 
evening of August i8th, 1881, I reached home, having been 
absent two years lacking ten days. 

I left home alone and in the two years that I spent in the 
Old World I never had anv other companionship than the 
fellow travelers I chanced to meet for the day. Of course 
I missed many pleasures which agreeable companionship 



4i6 A student's views abroad. 

would have afforded and passed many lonesome hours which 
I could have avoided had I been accompanied by some other 
student of kindred turn of mind . On the other hand the 
lack of companionship compelled me to talk with the people 
I happened to be with and forced me to always be in imme- 
diate contact with the inhabitants of the country through 
which I was traveling. 



THE END. 



Qo 



RD- 79. 



> • 




^' 


/, 


% 




/ 




^o 


« 


• 


^° 


•^*> 


*- <; 



o w O ^ 














*>^ 








' K<^ 



X 




/ DOBBSBROS. ^^ ^ 






32084 



'•^^^^^ 






itH'^'^Y OF CONGRESS 



020 678 814 8 



':^i>'.m 



mm 



>;l < 



ili 






m 



i 

■■■. .■;:'-iii;i<^{<'^ii(k- 

■mm 







